Chestra
by Sawnya
Summary: *COMPLETE* When Frieza buys Chestra, a slave girl sentenced to death, from her cruel masters, he assigns Zarbon to train her. Attraction between them is mutual, but they can't be together while he is training her.
1. Chapter One: The Beginning of Chestra's ...

CHESTRA  
Sawnya's Note: Chestra happens to be one of my "Tayla of Astoria" stories. This story is a bit pre-Tayla, as it tells of one of one of villains in Frieza's forces. If you want to learn more about what happens to Chestra after this story ends, read my larger fanfic, Tayla of Astoria, which tells more of Chestra's story as well as the stories of some of Frieza's other minions.  
  
DBZ Disclaimer: DBZ and its characters of course do not belong to me, but Jaden, Chestra, Diamonique, Balair, the Egimarians, and other any races and their members mentioned in "Chestra's History" do belong to me. If anyone steals any of them without written permission from yours truly, Sawnya will not be held responsible for the consequences, as any Frieza's minions belonging to me are known to be armed, dangerous, and capable of blowing up entire planets and anyone who ticks them off. In Jaden's case, she is capable of turning you into a glass ornament and breaking you…  
  
…Well enough warnings. Enjoy the stories.  
  
  
  
Chapter One: The Beginning of Chestra's New Fate  
  
Planet Egimari.  
  
She knew that she had gone too far this time.  
  
She had stabbed one of her three current masters with a small shiatar that she had stolen from one of the soldiers guarding the slave barracks. The master, a gigantic, gray ape-like alien, native to Egimari, had tried to molest her. Chestra had enough of masters trying to violate her; she had been considered no more than a plaything to them.   
  
It had been going on like that since she was twelve years old; since that age, she had to fend off advances from various owners, and thankfully none had succeeded in raping her. Actually, her resisting their advances was one of the reasons that she was repeatedly sold over and over again through the intergalactic slave market. Chestra had killed half of her masters (ten total), but she had never succeeded in escaping from them. The only reason that she had not been killed for her actions was because she was a great fighter. Some of her masters had often used her as a mercenary, bounty hunter, or executioner. A few of them used her for sport because they liked to set up fights in their own private arenas and have her as one of their contenders. Chestra had never lost a match in one of these arenas.  
  
This time, she had been sold to the Triumvirate Of Egimari, the ruling body of three brother leaders that ruled the tiny, vicious planet that took part in the intergalactic slave market. The Egimari people were all gray, ape-creatures with skin like crumbling stone and hard black eyes that could also shoot lasers. The Egimarians also held an extreme prejudice against almost anyone who was not one of them, especially slaves. Any alien that was unfortunate enough to land on their planet without an invitation would either become a slave or someone's next victim. The Egimarians also liked to hold blood sports where the slave contenders (often not by their own choice) would fight each other to the death. The Triumvirate would invite a select group of alien leaders to come watch the events. The Egimarians were also part of the Planet Trade, and therefore the Planet Trade's leader, Lord Frieza, was part of their exclusive group.  
  
Egron, the Triumvirate member who tried to violate Chestra, was recovering from his wounds in the Triumvirate's castle infirmary. Chestra, of course, had been arrested and beaten to a bloody pulp by some of Egron's soldiers. Chestra did not scream or cry when they had repeatedly whipped her razor straps, nor did she cry out when the pounded her repetitively with their rock-like fists. Chestra just lay there dispassionately, as if in a trance, while her four limbs were tied to metal poles. She had been beaten and assaulted so many times in her life that she paid it no mind. She was used to it, and she had long ago learned to tolerate her masters' cruelty, except when they tried to ravish her.   
  
She also did not protest when they had shaved her head of her beautiful red and green hair that was her one treasure. It would grow back within a matter of days, and she needed to have it trimmed anyway.   
  
Chestra just put herself in a trance and waited for the worst to be over with. Their beatings and assaults had no effect on her because she had the unique ability to turn off all of her nerves like a light switch. When her nerves were turned "off", she could not feel anything, not even the lightest touch, on her snow-white skin. When the nerves were turned off, she could not feel pain or abuse; she could feel nothing. She just lay there, waiting for them to finish.  
  
Finally her tormentors were finished with her, although they were still furious that they could not make her cry or scream. Chestra revived herself from her trance and gave her abusers a saucy grin that infuriated them further. She loved to anger her assailants like that because she knew that they could never make her cry or scream. One of her beaters was about to harm her again, when Gegron, another member of the Triumvirate, entered the torture room. Chestra had just turned her nerves back on, and she nearly screamed under the horrible pain, but she didn't.  
  
"You little witch!" he hissed at her, slapping her face before Chestra could turn off her facial nerves. His slap felt like a metal gauntlet hitting her in her panther-like face, and Chestra cried out. She quickly turned off her facial nerves again.  
  
"You will die this time, you little whore!" Gegron roared at her, his evil black eyes piercing right into her jade-green ones. "You have been here for three months, and you know that you belong to us, and that we can do whatever we want with you. When we say, "Jump", you are supposed to say, "How high?" When we say, "Kiss me", you are supposed to say, "Where?" Egron is my brother, and he wanted to make you his mistress. Most female slaves on this planet would consider that a step up."  
  
"Well, not me," Chestra retorted. Her voice was usually as smooth as the best silk, but it would become like burlap when she was angry. "I would consider it a step down! No man of any species is going to touch me or couple with me without my consent! If I ever take a mate, something very unlikely, it will be of my own choosing!" She wisely turned off all of her nerves, anticipating a potential assault.  
  
"That's exactly what your problem is: you think that you can make choices for yourself! Well, no slave here can make choices for him or herself! You are our property, slut, and that is something that no one can seem to make you understand! So you are going to die!" Gegron grinned evilly then. "But don't worry, my dear, you'll like this method of death. You are an excellent fighter, so you will die a fighter's death."  
  
"What do you mean a 'fighter's death'?" Chestra asked boldly.  
  
"You will be placed in an arena with one of our most ferocious wild beast where he will devour you in no time. You won't even have a chance to throw a punch! Goodnight, you little tramp! Soldiers, take her back to the slave barracks!" Gegron left the room then, his heavy, stone-like feet pounding the floor and shaking the foundations of the room.  
  
Chestra said nothing. Her face was schooled into her characteristic unfeeling mask. She just shrugged her slender, well-shaped, human-like shoulders; Gegron wasn't the first fool to try to put her to death that way. Ah, well, everyone had to learn sometime.   
  
She let the soldiers take her back to the slave barracks and gave them no more grief 


	2. Chapter Two: Chestra's Death Match

Chapter Two: Chestra's Death Match  
  
Chestra rubbed her shaven head that had not a strand of red or green hair and scratched her panther nose, as Gegron's soldiers led her out to the fighting arena where she would meet her death-supposedly.   
  
She fingered the electronic slave collar that held her neck only loose enough not to strangle her. When her Egimarian masters first realized that she had secret telekinetic powers, one of the few intelligent Egimarian scientists developed the collar to prevent her from using those powers. However, the scientist involved had been unable to restrain any other of Chestra's peculiar abilities.   
  
"Well, little wench," one of the soldiers said, for Chestra was only four-feet, seven inches tall, "you're finally going to get what you deserve."  
  
Chestra smirked. He had no more brains that Gegron or Egron did; in fact, none of these Egimarian idiots excelled in the intelligence department. Chestra herself did not have many book smarts (except from what she had learned from one of her previous masters), but she definitely had above-average street smarts, and she was as good as outwitting people, as she was fighting them.  
  
"Are you so sure that it will be me who gets what I deserve?" Chestra purred in her silky voice. "How do you know that it won't be your famous beast that gets what it deserves?"  
  
The soldiers laughed loudly. "What a fool you are!" they crowed. "No one yet has ever survived our beast! You are not the first one to declare that you would survive him!"  
  
"I'm probably not," Chestra said smoothly, "but I will definitely be the last."  
  
The soldiers laughed even louder. Chestra smirked again; these pathetic Egimarians wanted a good show. Well, they were certainly in for a treat.  
  
The soldiers brought Chestra to a metal grate that separated them from the arena and the beast that was supposed to kill Chestra. Chestra observed the beast; the animal was twenty-feet tall, and it was a dragon. The dragon was bright red, with its scales trimmed in gold. The gigantic wings were also gold, and the dragon's claws were as longer than Chestra's body.  
  
But Chestra was unfazed. It had not been the first time that someone had tried to put her to death by having someone fight her to the death; she wondered how many more times that she would have to go through this before she died. Chestra puffed her slender, short body up proudly as the grate rose, allowing her to enter. The soldiers shoved her out into the arena.  
  
"KILL HER! KILL HER! KILL HER!" the Egimarian spectators crowed at the red and gold dragon.  
  
Chestra grinned, and then she stuck her tongue out at the crowd. The crowd booed further, but Chestra just looked at them contemptuously. She walked boldly up to the dragon, which couldn't talk, and she looked straight into its deadly red eyes and said, "Good luck."  
  
Chestra turned off all of her nerve endings then, as the dragon immediately shot fire at her. Chestra leapt out of the way; she was not able to feel pain, but she knew that being burned too many times would kill her. She opened her small, delicate-looking hands and shot black lasers from them into the dragon's head. The lasers would not kill the dragon, but it would upset his entire nervous system, so that any pain that he felt would be ten times greater than it should be. A tiny cut would feel like a great sword gash to him. Chestra shot a green laser from her tiny mouth right at the dragon's leg, and the dragon howled in agony; for anyone else, that laser would not have been extremely painful, but to the beast, it was fifty times worse in his case. Chestra shot more green lasers, as the dragon spat fire at her. She dodged each fire attack that it her. She then leapt onto the dragon's back and kicked his back with her foot. Normally her kick would have felt like a poking to the dragon, but now it felt like a giant pole driving into him.  
  
The crowd was stunned, for Chestra should have been dead by now. Egron and Gegron were furious; what was with their favorite beast? They all watched in amazement, as Chestra dug out her stolen shiatar that she had managed to hide from the soldiers and neatly sliced a small cut in the nape of the dragon's neck. The dragon tried to grab her with one of his four hands, but Chestra was too quick for him. The dragon had a neck that could turn all the way around, so he turned his neck around towards Chestra, and that was its fatal mistake.  
  
The dragon managed to burn Chestra, its fire scorching her. Chestra did not cry out, of course. The burns were serious, but Chestra ignored them for right now. She was nearly nude, her scanty clothes having been burnt away, but she paid no attention to that fact. Chestra whipped out her shiatar again, and she flew up into the air right under the dragon's head. Swiftly, she cut a long gash right down the angry dragon's throat. The hot, golden dragon blood exploded all over her like a great tidal wave, burning her further. But she was not done yet. She then boldly reached into the dragon's throat, as it was screaming in extreme, horrific pain, and stuck her shiatar inside the throat. She then quickly cut the dragon's spinal and neck cords, effectively killing him once and for all.  
  
The crowd roared with cheer; for all their faults, the Egimarians could appreciate a new winner. Chestra was smart enough to jump off of the dragon, as the dragon's body fell over onto its right side onto the cold, dirt floor of the arena. When the beast's body hit the ground, the entire arena foundations shook like an earthquake.  
  
"HURRAH! HURRAH! YAYYYY!" the crowd cheered.  
  
Chestra strutted around the arena, like a proud rooster, basking in the crowd's praise. It was definitely her moment of glory so far in her eighteen years. She bowed graciously to all the spectators. Egron and Gegron were still furious with her, for they both had truly wanted her to die. The leader of the Triumvirate, Morgon, was quietly watching her with interest.  
  
"Morgon, what are we to do with the slut now?" Gegron asked, like a whiny little boy instead of the great Egimarian leader that he supposedly was.   
  
"I can answer that easily."  
  
The speaker, an alien guest who had been watching Chestra's entire match, stepped out of his gold chair and shadows. The Triumvirate members trembled when he spoke, although they knew well who he was.  
  
Lord Frieza. 


	3. Chapter Three: Chestra's New Destiny

Chapter Three: Chestra's New Destiny  
  
Morgon stammered, "What would you suggest, Lord Frieza?"  
  
The changeling grinned. "I could use someone like her. She's a feisty little thing, isn't she? But what is the strange collar on her neck?"  
  
"Oh, that!" Egron began. "Well, Lord Frieza, she has the power to move objects with her mind-telekinesis, I think it's called. Anyway, she has used this ability to kill some of her previous masters in the past, and she actually killed some of our soldiers with it before our best scientist put the collar on her neck. She cannot feel pain half the time, it seems; when she is beaten or whipped, she does not cry out or scream. She is strange and very troublesome, I can assure you. This match was supposed to be her death sentence; now we'll have to find some other way to destroy her, I'm afraid. Gegron, send our best soldiers out after her; we'll kill her one way or the other."  
  
"No, you won't," Frieza told him coldly.  
  
The Triumvirate members gasped, "Lord Frieza! You are not serious!"  
  
"I am serious, fools! I want that girl! I could use her; she has guts and attitude, and I like that! I want her to be one of my minions and clear planets and fight for me. Her rebelliousness is something that I can easily control. I am even willing to buy her from you, as a rare favor for your services in the Planet Trade. How about that tiny planet, Ritan, which you sometimes use for a vacation spot? That should be a fair trade, don't you think?" Frieza purred, as he rubbed his white, perfectly shaped hands together. He turned to his two closest henchmen, Zarbon and Dodoria, who had accompanied him to Egimari. "Zarbon, Dodoria, I want you two to go down to the arena and inform the girl that she now has a new master."  
  
"Yes, Lord Frieza," both henchmen chorused. Before they left, however, Dodoria leaned over and whispered in Frieza's ear:  
  
"Lord Frieza, I thought that you were planning to have this planet cleared, and that you happened to want Ritan for yourself."  
  
Frieza whispered back, "Quiet, fool! I know what I said, but we will clear this planet some other time! I may even send that slave girl to do it for me, if she works out like I hope; she'll probably want a chance for revenge on these pathetic idiots."  
  
"What were you saying, Lord Frieza?" Gegron foolishly asked.  
  
"None of your business!" Frieza snapped. "How dare you attempt to listen in on my private conversations?"  
  
"I apologize, Lord Frieza," Gegron stammered.  
  
Zarbon and Dodoria left the Triumvirate's reserved seating booth, and they flew down to the arena where Chestra was still standing proudly in front of the still thrilled, yet stunned crowd.  
  
Chestra looked up into Egimari's red sky and noticed the strange visitors approaching her. She instinctively put up her guard and turned off her nerves once again. She took brief note of her burns and tried not to think of them.  
  
Zarbon and Dodoria landed in the arena next to her, and Chestra watched them warily. "Do I have new challengers now?" she asked edgily. She wasn't sure she was up for another battle so soon, but she would do what she had to.  
  
Zarbon and Dodoria gave rare good-natured laughs. "Hardly," Dodoria chuckled. "You'll get your chance to spar with us soon enough, but it won't be today! You have a new master now; his name is Lord Frieza."  
  
"Since when?" Chestra asked. "I thought that my masters in the Triumvirate wanted me dead."  
  
"Not any more," Zarbon told her. "Lord Frieza wants you to work for him. He is buying you from your masters now. Your death match impressed him."  
  
"What does Lord Frieza want with me?" Chestra asked stiffly. She trusted no one, especially a new master. The great Lord Frieza probably wanted her for his mistress, and even though he was the most powerful creature that she knew of, she had no intention of letting him touch her. She would rather die first.  
  
"He wants to recruit you," Dodoria told her. "He thinks that you'd make a great fighter for him."  
  
"Is that all he wants me for?" Chestra asked him stonily. "Or does he really want me for another purpose-say personal or sexual?"  
  
Zarbon laughed softly. "No, young lady, Frieza does not want you for that purpose. If he did, he would have already said so. He already has a few little playmates in the universe, and he has his hands full with them! He likes to be selective. He just wants you to fight and work for him, and that is all."  
  
Chestra touched the collar around her neck. "Am I going to have to continue to wear this horrid thing?"  
  
Zarbon thought for a moment. "Hmm…that will be up to Lord Frieza. I am sure, however, that he would want to see your telekinetic abilities, so it will likely be coming off. If you will become loyal to him, I'm sure something could be worked out where you would not have to wear that."  
  
Chestra watched them suspiciously, trying to determine if everything that they were telling her was the truth. She had heard of Lord Frieza and his minions, particularly Zarbon and Dodoria. She knew that they had emptied some of the planets that she had been a slave on. However, Chestra had never seen any of them in person before.  
  
"How do I know that I can trust any of you?" she asked guardedly.  
  
"You don't have a choice," Dodoria told her, a bit sharply. "Frieza is making the trade now, as we speak. You belong to him now, whether you like or not!"  
  
"Enough, Dodoria!" Zarbon's normally calm composure disappeared for a moment. "She is right to question us, although you are correct in saying that she doesn't have a choice." He turned to Chestra. "Yes, my dear, you are right to be suspicious. But look at it this way: you were sentenced to die today anyway, and this is a way out for you. You will still be under someone else's control, but life under him will surely be better than the slave life you had been forced to lead until now. You won't be chained and forced to do degrading things, unless you find clearing planets of life degrading. That is the main thing that you would be doing. You like to fight; we have seen that, and this a good way to do so. If you please Lord Frieza enough, you might even make it into his Elite Forces, such as Dodoria and myself did. Not many slaves could say that they hold an important position with the great Lord Frieza."  
  
Chestra looked at Zarbon thoughtfully. She was quiet for a few moments. Finally, much to Zarbon's relief and Dodoria's surprise, she grinned.  
  
"Well, I'm likely to die sooner or later anyway!" she said cheerfully. "I may as well die doing something useful! What do I have to lose? Anything has to be better than what I have been going through!"  
  
Dodoria's rare good humor returned. "That's the spirit! Lord Frieza will be pleased to have a willing recruit! Half of the people that we recruit, we have to twist their arms to get them to obey!"   
  
He looked Chestra over appreciatively, with no romantic interest, for he was interested mainly in Lord Frieza (Dodoria was a closet bisexual). Zarbon, who was heterosexual, had not had a mate in ten years, and he regarded her with high interest. Chestra smirked at both of them; they didn't seem to be so bad, and they didn't have any whips on hand.   
  
Zarbon and Dodoria escorted her into the sky and right in front of Lord Frieza in the Triumvirate's seating booth. Chestra could feel the power radiating from the wicked warlord, as he grinned slyly at her. Frieza gave the slave girl an once-over that made her shiver for only a moment.  
  
"Well, well, so you are my new recruit. A beautiful and young one at that," he told her huskily. Chestra automatically put up her guard once more. "You needn't worry, my dear, I want you only as a fighter, nothing more. I was very impressed with your performance today in the arena; maybe your actions will silence the mouths of these Egimarian fools who like to brag of their so-called powerful beasts."  
  
Chestra said daringly, "I certainly hope so. It's rare to hear Egron and Gegron silent on anything." She grinned widely then, and to her surprise, Frieza, Zarbon, and even Dodoria grinned back. Gegron glared at her darkly, and Egron leapt at her to shut her up, but Chestra kicked him hard in his crotch. She could do that now, for he was no longer her master.  
  
Frieza laughed. "Such spirit! I like that!"  
  
Egron was about to blast Chestra with his eye lasers, but Zarbon quickly cuffed him before he had a chance to try it. Zarbon held the Egimarian tightly by his throat, and then he flung him onto the ground. "You nor your friends will not bother her again!" he told Egron smoothly. "She is ours now, not yours."  
  
Egron cursed, but he dared do no more than that.  
  
Frieza moved his small floating pod that he always rode in closer to Chestra.  
  
"Now, my dear, I don't believe that we know your name." 


	4. Chapter Four: Chestra's New Life

Chapter Four: Chestra's New Life  
  
Three days later. Frieza's ship.  
  
Chestra rubbed her neck contentedly. It felt good to have that collar off her neck. Frieza had been further impressed with her telekinetic powers. Chestra could move meteors with her mind, and she had actually demonstrated that to him. Of course, part of Egimari had been damaged in the process, but since that planet would later be cleared, it didn't bother her at all. In fact, she had even told Frieza that she would gladly help clear Egimari, if he wanted her to. Frieza told her that he would consider letting her do it.  
  
She liked her small quarters. They were small and Spartan, but it was the first time in her life that she had her own personal space in a long time. She had a small, narrow bed with a plain dresser and table and closet. To her, it was the closest thing to heaven. No chains, no collars, only the required armor flanks and boots. Chestra looked out into the starry universe from her tiny porthole in her room. Not bad, not bad at all.  
  
Her burns had healed quickly, thanks to Frieza's rejuvenation tanks, which healed any injury within a matter of hours. She also was pleased to know that her whip cuts were gone too.  
  
In another day or two, she would be training under her new trainer, Zarbon. She would train for two years, and she would start clearing planets with an experienced officer in one year. If she passed her final evaluation, she would be inducted officially as one of Frieza's fighters, and she would have to pledge loyalty permanently to him.  
  
The final evaluation would be of her having to fight Zarbon, then Dodoria. She would have to last thirty minutes with both of them without giving in to defeat. If she passed, all would be well. If she failed, there would be only one thing-death.  
  
That last part did not faze her too much; she had been through much worst, and she knew confidently that she would pass.  
  
There was a knock on her door. Very few had ever granted her that small courtesy before of knocking before they entered her private space-it was as private as anything could be under Frieza. Well it was almost private, for Chestra would have a roommate. The roommate had not yet arrived.   
  
Chestra went to the door and opened it.  
  
She saw a strange alligator-woman standing there with navy blue scales and bright yellow eyes. She had two powerful, agile, flexible tails and large reptilian feet. The female lizard-creature looked stern and forbidding. Chestra nodded to her humbly, for the reptile wore the armor and cape of a Top Elite officer, same as Zarbon and Dodoria did.  
  
She was shocked to learn that this woman was a Rybanese warrior, a warrior from a planet where she had been a slave on. She thought that the Hycanese people had destroyed all of the Rybanese.  
  
"Hello," she addressed the officer politely.  
  
"Hey," the officer addressed her gruffly, "You must be Chestra. I am Commander Jaden."  
  
"Hello, Commander Jaden," Chestra said. "Are you training me too?"  
  
"Not for right now. Zarbon will be your trainer only, as far as I know. I just came out of curiosity. I don't normally bother with other officers' recruits, but I was bored, so I figured I find out what Zarbon had in store for him."  
  
Chestra laughed. "I didn't think it was possible to be bored under Frieza!" Jaden shared her laughter, and it was rare for Jaden to laugh, ever.  
  
"Anything's possible under Frieza, even boredom! You can get bored between assignments sometimes, but the extra time is the only free time that you probably will have. I haven't been bored much of late, however, until now. I'm currently training a couple of Saiyan brats, and that Prince Vegeta is enough to keep anyone on their toes! I only have time now because that brat and his two pals, Nappa and Raditz, have been sent off to clear planet Astoria. I never thought that Lord Frieza would send kids there, for Shalila Chloe and her people are tough, but that's his prerogative. I'm supposed to take Prince Vegeta's sister, Princess Journa, with me to clear Sugaran in a couple of weeks. That planet won't be much of a challenge, for no one is that strong there, and none of them have an IQ higher than a rock's."  
  
Chestra asked softly, "How long have you been working here?"  
  
Jaden grew quiet then. "A good while. How old did Zarbon say you were-eighteen? I've been here since I was twelve; I'm thirty now, as of yesterday."  
  
"Happy birthday."  
  
"Thank you," Jaden told her. "It's also the anniversary of my eighteenth year working for Frieza."  
  
"How do you like it?"  
  
Jaden looked a little sad then. "I am alive and in a top position. It works. Look, kid, it's been nice talking to you, but I've got to run. If you want to meet the other unfortunates-um, recruits-I suggest you go downstairs to the recruits lounge."  
  
"Commander Jaden, wait!" Chestra cried. "What is wrong?"  
  
"I've got to go. See you around!" Jaden abruptly left the room, and the door lowered again between them. Chestra would later learn that Jaden did not normally have a reputation for politeness or courtesy.  
  
  
  
Chestra brushed her long waist-length hair (which had grown back quickly) with her slender fingers before she left her room. Chestra loved how her hair was always parted down the middle, with one side ruby red, and other side emerald-green. She liked how shiny and soft it was now; when she had been under worse conditions, she had not been able to take care of it properly. She had used the small bottle of shampoo that had come with the tiny grooming kit that most recruits received.  
  
She did not go to the recruits' lounge right away, as Jaden suggested; instead, she marched straight to Zarbon's quarters. Outside Zarbon's luxurious quarters, he was standing out in the corridors talking to Dodoria and Dodoria's new recruit, Diamonique.  
  
Chestra stood behind a palm tree, as she observed Zarbon. Zarbon was very handsome; she loved his hair and his pale green skin. She thought his ball-like earrings suited him; it made him look like a prince.  
  
What am I thinking? Have I lost my mind completely? I had no plans to take a mate! I never really wanted a man to touch me. Get a grip, Chestra; he is your trainer, not your potential lover. And what would a Top Elite officer of Frieza want with a mere slave girl like you anyway? He is probably royalty, or at least of a noble class.  
Chestra tried to shake her head free of her growing feelings about Zarbon. She barely knew the man, and already he had stirred something in her. Someone like Zarbon probably already had a mate. Chestra, uncertain of her true origins, dared to long after him. She did not even know what planet or race she was descended from, for she had been a slave since she had been a baby. What chances would she have with Zarbon?  
  
She decided to try to put Zarbon out of her mind and focus on Dodoria's recruit, Diamonique. Diamonique was a beautiful girl about Chestra's age; she resembled a human (none of Frieza's minions knew what a human looked like) with ice-blue and sliver-streaked hair and black diamond eyes with long, thick lashes. Diamonique had perfect peaches-and-ice skin with a tiny pointed nose and diamond fingernails and toenails. She was five-foot-nine inches tall, slender and graceful.  
  
She's the sort of woman that Zarbon would want. You can tell she comes from good breeding and class.  
  
Chestra noticed Diamonique openly flirting with Zarbon, running her diamond-encrusted fingers along his chest and laughing. Chestra was relieved to hear that Diamonique had a terrible laugh; Diamonique's laugh was harsh and condescending even when she tried to make it light and merry.   
  
Diamonique looked Chestra's way, for the palm tree did not hide Chestra well. Diamonique's cold black gem eyes bore right into Chestra; the ice-haired woman was hoping to intimidate her into leaving. Diamonique already did not like Chestra, and she could sense Chestra's interest in Zarbon. Diamonique was indifferently fond of her trainer, Dodoria, but she envied Chestra for being Zarbon's recruit. She gave Chestra a cold, hard look. Chestra glared back at her; she instantly disliked Diamonique.  
  
That blue-haired girl was going to be trouble. Chestra had met Diamonique's type before, and she was wise enough to know that she would have to watch her own back whenever she sensed Diamonique's energy on her new scouter. Chestra knew Diamonique's type well enough to know that Diamonique would try to harm her at the first viable opportunity.  
  
Zarbon abruptly turned away from the seductive Diamonique, and he strolled over to Chestra. "Chestra," he purred, "how are you adjusting to life here?"  
  
"Very well," Chestra told him honestly. "I like it much better here; I consider this a step up."  
  
Diamonique cooed to Chestra in an icy-sweet voice that Chestra would come to hate immediately, "I suppose it would be for someone who has spent her life as a slave, pleasuring various men, being someone's mistress every time. But you don't need to worry about that here, Chestra, darling, for it unlikely that anyone here would consider taking you as their paramour, my dear." She smiled amiably at Chestra, as if she had said the kindest thing.  
  
"Diamonique…" Zarbon began warningly. He turned to Dodoria. "Dodoria, it is your job to restrain your recruit's tongue."  
  
Dodoria told Diamonique sternly, "That will be enough, Diamonique."  
  
Chestra's green eyes flickered, but she kept a bold, bright smile. "I'm afraid, Diamonique, darling, that you are mistaken. I am still a virgin, believe it or not; I have managed to fend off many a lecherous creature's advances, and some of them I have even killed. My various masters have used me to fight and kill, mostly. I was no one's mistress. Were you, my dear?"  
  
Diamonique's black gem eyes were hate-mad, but she still managed to maintain her cold-sweet voice. "I was never a slave, Chestra, darling. I came here voluntarily, of my own free will. Lord Frieza was holding a tournament of the universe's greatest warriors, and I entered the tournament and won."  
  
Dodoria added, "Lord Frieza likes to have intergalactic tournaments now and then to find new recruits-the voluntary ones."  
  
"And the involuntary ones?" Chestra asked smoothly.  
  
"They are slaves, such as yourself, or people that we take prisoner and force them to work for us."  
  
"And which one am I?"  
  
Zarbon smiled benevolently at her. "Normally slaves would have been listed as 'involuntary recruits', but since you came with us willingly enough, you are listed as 'voluntary'. That is good, for voluntary recruits get better treatment here than the involuntary recruits do. It is best never to oppose Lord Frieza or his wishes on anything."  
  
He looked at her deeply, admiringly, and Chestra felt shivers dance along her spine-pleasant shivers. Chestra had never truly had a long-term mate before; she had spent most of her life trying to fend off her masters' unwanted advances, and most men turned her off. But she sensed that Zarbon could be different.  
  
I'll have to wait and see, she thought amusedly to herself. She fully intended to get to know her new trainer well. Very well.  
  
Zarbon continued, his smooth voice interrupting Chestra's thoughts, "Whom are you rooming with? I hear that you are one of the luckier recruits as in having a single roommate instead of being stuck in the barracks like most recruits are. Lord Frieza seemed to be unusually pleased to have you working for him, my dear."  
  
Diamonique emitted an unladylike snort. She had Zarbon's full attention until that freak-of-nature cat-woman with the red-and-green-hair (how ghastly!) showed up. This other girl-Chestra-was of undetermined heritage-what did this nobody slave girl have that she didn't?  
  
Chestra smiled demurely, as she fished into her small satchel for her card, which she had not viewed yet. Diamonique suddenly remembered to her horror that she had to have a roommate herself, and she too had been one of the luckier recruits who would only have one roommate. She looked in her satchel for her card and shrieked with horror when she read the name.  
  
"I have to room with you?" she gasped aloud.  
  
Chestra looked at her card and read Diamonique's name on it. "It looks like it," she told the humanoid woman calmly.  
  
"I don't believe this!" Diamonique hissed angrily. "I am Lady Diamonique of the Diamondian Tribe, the elite-class tribe of planet Gemstar, and I have to room with a slave girl of unknown origin! Chesty, or whatever your name is, do you even know whom or where you are descended from?"  
  
Chestra smiled as pleasantly as possible. She already did not like Diamonique, but the former slave girl did not believe in having any more enemies than necessary. She and Diamonique did not have to like each other, but they did not have to be adversaries.  
  
"It is Chestra, and I am sorry if the arrangement bothers you, Diamonique, but we may as well make the best of it and get along. Who knows? Maybe we will learn to like each other," she told Diamonique politely.  
  
"Not in this millennium!" Diamonique hissed in rage. "I will go see Lord Frieza about this myself! I will remind him of what my uncle, the King of Gemstar and one of his greatest allies, has done for him! This is not over yet!" And with that, the Gemstarian warrior stalked off out of the corridors.  
  
Zarbon and Dodoria sighed. They already knew what a spoiled brat Diamonique was, and they also knew that Frieza would not comply with Diamonique's request, or rather demand. The snobby girl would just have to make do with the rooming arrangements for now.  
  
Chestra kept her voice contrite. "I am sorry that I have caused this much trouble."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Zarbon assured her. "Lord Frieza will set the spoiled girl straight. She is not any different than you."  
  
"Except that she can poison people with her diamond nails and is the niece of an important ally of Frieza's, but don't let that faze you," Dodoria chortled. "My little bratty recruit will get over it-or try to kill you." He laughed at his lousy joke until Zarbon punched him in his ribs.  
  
"Just stay on her good side," Dodoria wheezed.  
  
Chestra wondered if Diamonique even had a good side. 


	5. Chapter Five: Chestra's History

Chapter Five: Chestra's History  
One Month Later.  
  
Zarbon was one who believed in hands-on-training. He took Chestra to a small, mostly uninhabited planet known as Planet Frieza Number Seventeen; it was a planet reserved exclusively for training purposes. Chestra was to learn later that Frieza had one hundred planets named after him.  
  
Frieza from time to time would send unfortunate captives or animals to Seventeen to use for target practice for his minions. Zarbon was disappointed to learn that Frieza had not sent any powerful creatures to Seventeen this time, but there were enough semi-powerful beings for Chestra to practice on.  
  
Chestra's targets were medium-sized, yellow slug-like animals with large, hollow black eyes and suction-like mouths that could be used to suck carbon monoxide from their victims. Some of these creatures tried to suffocate Chestra, but she practiced her telekinetic powers on them and used her mind to move them up into the air. Then she flawlessly and ruthlessly blasted them to fragments with her tiny mouth lasers.  
  
Then her next targets were the new Saibamen that had been genetically cloned and created just for target practice. Saibamen were light-green, plant-like creatures with large pink eyes, specifically designed to have no thoughts or feelings, in order to prevent sentimental, conscience-stricken recruits from feeling sorry for them and trying to spare them. Not that it would have mattered anyway, for the Saibamen's mentalities were programmed only to kill and destroy in anyway possible. Saibamen came in tiny seeds, and once these seeds touched the dirt, they would sprout.  
  
The Saibamen gave Chestra a harder time than the slug-creatures did, but she eventually used her unique power to increase their sensitivity to pain, and she once again blasted them away with her mouth lasers  
  
"Very good," Zarbon praised her. "That's one of the fastest record I've ever seen for killing Saibamen."  
  
"Thank you," Chestra told him happily.  
  
"Let's eat now, and then we'll find more Saibamen for you to practice on," Zarbon told her. He himself quickly zapped an antelope-like creature through its heart. He flew over and picked up the creature, and then he rammed a stick through the body to use as a spit. He set up the spit and turned to Chestra.  
  
"Can you cook?" he asked her.  
  
Chestra lifted up a tiny index finger and used it to zap the beast. It was cooked to perfection within seconds.  
  
Zarbon smiled. "I guess that answers my question."  
  
They broke off pieces of the antelope and ate the pieces with relish. Both had unusually dainty table manners for Frieza's minions, and they used pieces of the animal's hide as napkins.  
  
"So," Zarbon told her, "where are you originally from?"  
Chestra answered quietly, "To tell you the truth, I am not for sure. In fact, I don't even know what race I am descended from, or even where I was born. The first planet that I remember living on was Mortrose, and I know that couldn't have been my home planet because I resembled none of their people. I have been a slave since I've been a baby, and my earliest memory was being beaten to a bloody pulp for wetting myself in my bed. That was when I was two years old, and under the rule of my first master, Saytin, a tiny, but strong alien, who enjoyed beating women and children. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep myself from wetting my bed, so finally he sold me to a cruel race of aliens that resembled horses with rhino heads on planet Myboo. I was six years old at the time."  
  
"I remember that Jaden and I cleared Myboo three months ago. That race put up quite a good fight, but they were eventually eliminated. They were known to be vicious to anyone that they considered weaker than they were."  
  
Chestra snorted derisively, "But they didn't dare challenge anyone that they knew were stronger than they were. I'm surprised that they bothered to resist you at all. A year after I was sold to the Mybooians, I had managed to kill some of their noblemen by causing boulders to crash onto them with my mind. Unfortunately, the few Mybooians who were stronger than me were able to restrain me, and then they sold me to a royal family on the planet Ghetti, and during the five years that I spent on Ghetti, my luck changed for the better."  
Zarbon decided not to mention just yet that the Saiyan boys, Nappa and Raditz, had cleared Ghetti last year. The Ghettians had been a race of dark purple creatures that resembled cats with pink rabbit ears and sunshine-yellow eyes. He instead asked her, "Were the Ghettians good to you?"  
  
"The best masters that I had in my short life," Chestra said positively. "King Muro and Queen Taba became attached to me and raised me like one of their own children. I didn't have to fight or worry about being molested then. I was the caretaker for the four royal children, and I loved them all. I love children, although it is unlikely that I will ever have any of my own. I don't even know which species I would be genetically and reproductively compatible with. A few months, after I was there, the King and Queen adopted me as one of their own. In fact, they even gave me my own small estate and a few servants. They also had tutors teach me to read and write in Standard, and I was a good student. And all I had to do was agree to serve them for the rest of my life, which I would have done gladly. I was like a member of their family. They were the only true parents that I ever had, and King Muro himself taught me how to control my powers and untap the hidden ones that I had. He helped me maximize my abilities. And Queen Taba arranged a marriage for me with one of her nephews, Haven. I was to marry him when I turned thirteen; I don't know if I loved Haven, but I was fond of him, and I would have done my best to make him a good wife."  
  
"What happened?" Zarbon asked softly.  
  
Chestra shut her eyes tight, and Zarbon could see that she was struggling to hold back tears. "It all ended so abruptly, my halcyon years. During a large party that Queen Taba had thrown for me on my twelfth birthday, some rebels, who did not approve of King Muro's new laws forbidding them to terrorize the weaker races on Ghetti, invaded the castle and murdered the entire royal family. I had managed to kill some of them, but they overpowered me before I could completely succeed in eradicating them. Even my fiancé, Haven, was killed trying to stop them. The rebels captured me, and they took over the entire planet. The new, evil rebel king, Orco, was planning to conquer other worlds for profit the same way that Lord Frieza is doing now."  
  
Zarbon nodded. King Orco's trying to muscle in on Lord Frieza's business had been the main reason that Ghetti had been conquered and cleared. Frieza did not like competition.   
  
"King Orco sold me to the leaders on planet Boro, so that he could finance his cornering the planet-selling market. The head chief, Kok, tried to rape me, but I used my mind to send a knife through his back before he had a chance. Of course, his people almost beat me to death, and then I was sold to someone else only after six months on Boro. This time, my captivity was on planet Sistra, and one of Sistra's army generals was my new master. He wanted to rape me, as well, but he was impotent, so he would inject drugs into me and molest me while I was only half-conscious. I was tied to poles while he did this."  
  
Zarbon's normally handsome face contorted with anger at Chestra's suffering. He wished that he was allowed to clear Sistra, but that planet was protected under Frieza's orders as one of his few allies. And one of his comrades, Balair, was from that planet. Zarbon secretly despised Balair and his people, but he could not harm them unless Frieza gave the permission. He kept careful control of his voice, as he asked, "How did you get away from him?"  
  
"I managed to get control of the needles that he used to inject his drugs into me, and I used them on him. The drugs that only made me unconscious ended up killing him instantly, and I managed to destroy the poles that I was tied to and escape. I stole a ship and flew off of Sistra."  
  
"After three months, I landed on planet Dijon, and the Dijonese told me to go to planet Astoria, where it was likely that the Superior Gran and Granden would grant me asylum. I knew that the Astorians were among the most powerful people in the Rosetta Galaxy, so I left Dijon for Astoria, but then some slave traders from planet Duffen had captured my ship and me two months after I left Dijon. The Duffenese were only slightly kinder than the Borolings and the Sistrai, in that they didn't beat me for every little mistake. The Duffenese trained fighters and sold them to various planets for high prices, and they trained me intensively. The more I learned and advanced, the less they beat me. I was not mating compatible with any of the Duffenese, so their men left me alone; they just taught me to fight better. The Duffenese would 'audition' us to prospective buyers, and my next home would be on planet Scotch."  
  
"The Scotchan men were drunk most of the time, and some of them tried to force themselves on me instead of using me to fight. I killed many of them with my mouth lasers, and then shortly afterwards, I was sold to the people on planet Ryban, where I was used strictly in the fighting arenas. I was one of the Ryban people's favorite fighters because I never had lost a match. I fought all of my own opponents to the death and won every time. My Rybanese master even gave me a small share of the prize money that he had won every time I won a match. After a while, he treated me more kindly, and he even wanted me to be his mate, but he did not manhandle me. He was patient, and while I did not love him, I did grow to like him, and I even agreed to marry him. Unfortunately, one of his less trustworthy fighters rose up against him and killed him before I could rescue my master. This rebellious fighter took everything that our master had, and I had no choice but to flee."  
  
"Of course I did not make it far; in fact, I didn't even make it off of Ryban, for invaders from planet Hycan came and conquered Ryban. I fought against many of the Hycanese and killed a good number of them, but they captured me and used me as a mercenary for them. Under them, I was forced to clear two planets under them. I believe that they were members of Lord Frieza's Planet Trade. I spent two years on Hycan, and they continued to use me to conquer and destroy people and their planet and others. Then that horrible Triumvirate of Egimari came to visit Hycan, and the Hycanese, who belong to your Lord Frieza's Planet Trade, sold me to them for a very high price. And then you know what happened after that."  
  
Zarbon was quiet. Yes, he did know what happened after that: he just met one of the bravest, toughest, strongest, and most beautiful women that he had ever known. He sincerely hoped that Chestra would work out as one of Frieza's fighters. Zarbon had already developed a romantic interest in her, but he had to remain objective while she was still his recruit. Romantic relationships between trainers and current recruits were strictly forbidden, especially since the trainers would have to kill their recruits themselves, if their recruits failed their final evaluation.  
  
Zarbon was going to everything that he could to ensure that Chestra would pass, even if it meant her possibly becoming stronger than him.  
  
He sat and watched the shadows play off of her white panther face, dancing in the firelight. He just sat and drank in her beauty; there would be plenty of time to send her after Saibamen again later. 


	6. Chapter Six: Jeers, Sneers, And A Bet

Chapter Six: Jeers, Sneers, And A Bet  
  
Three weeks later.  
A tall, muscular, large red Tyrannosaurus-Rex-like warrior marched confidently through the corridors of Frieza's mother ship. He had just come back from clearing planet Heptan, a race of three-eyed, four-legged lavender aliens with long yellow hair. He had kept a girl from planet Heptan as his mistress for the entire journey back to Frieza's mother ship, but the Heptani girl refused his advances one night, and in a fit of rage, he had unintentionally killed her. Not that it had bothered him too much, for he could easily find another plaything, but it was just the point that he had to have been without female company for the past couple of weeks. He had waited too long (in his opinion) to mate with another female.  
  
He was hoping that would soon change, especially after he saw her-a new girl, a recruit, a voluntary recruit that he had never met before.  
  
He had first noticed her today when that effeminate Zarbon had brought her with him to give a report to Lord Frieza in Lord Frieza's private office. He himself had gone there to give Lord Frieza a report about the clearing of planet Heptan. Another Top Elite officer had been there, but he had paid that officer no mind. The red lizard warrior's jaw had dropped the moment that he had seen her, and he had barely been able to control his hormones (and the protruding parts of his body below his waist). He had forced himself to turn away to keep her and Zarbon and Lord Frieza.  
  
Lord Frieza had casually introduced the girl as simply Chestra, who was Zarbon's newest recruit. He had wished that he had come back earlier, for then maybe that girl could have been his recruit!  
Oh, she had been beautiful-delicate, exquisite, and yet her ki level was very high, according to his scouter. Long ruby and emerald hair, framing a cute, cat-like face with clear green eyes the color of sun-kissed grass, along with perfectly shaped, slender arms and legs (oh, Kami, those legs!) and fragile looking hands-those features alone had been enough to stir, no shake his libido!  
  
He had to have her-and he would. She would be his!  
  
Of course, she would object at first; women always did, but like the other women, she would soon learn that it would be best for her (and her life) to give himself to him.  
  
He could hardly wait. Just the thought of that sweet, young cat-thing beneath his body, pressed against him made him drool.  
  
He continued to drool until the Top Elite officer that had been in Lord Frieza's office when he had saw the young girl. His fellow Top Elite officer had snickered when he had seen him drool. The officer then called to some of his subordinates, who were also Top Elite officers:  
  
"Hey, men, the fountain of Balair is overflowing! Anyone have a cork?"  
The other officers laughed.   
  
Balair hissed, "Ginyu, you can put that cork up your pimply, purple a-"  
  
"I have one, Captain!" Reccoom exclaimed happily, holding up a wine bottle cork.  
  
With one small, slender ki blast, Balair decimated the cork (and the tips of Reccoom's fingers). Reccoom took one look at his fingers, which were emitting small coils of black smoke, and then he fell to the floor and began to cry:  
  
"WAH! MY FINGERS! HE BURNED MY FINGERS! WAHHHHH!" Reccoom kicked and rolled around the floor. Ginyu sighed and turned away, extremely embarrassed. The other Ginyu Force members laughed at Reccoom's agony, although none of them cared much for Balair.  
  
"I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO USE MY FINGERS PROPERLY FOR ROCK, PAPER, AND SCISSORS ANYMORE! WHY'D YOU BURN ME, BALAIR? WHY? I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I CAN POSE LIKE I SHOULD! WAHHHHHH!"   
  
"Oh, suck on your fingers and shut up!" Balair roared.  
  
Reccoom did just that, taking Balair's suggestion seriously. He began to suck contentedly on his fingers, as a baby would a pacifier, cooing happily as he did so.  
  
Jaden entered the corridors then, picking her sharp gator-like teeth with a plastic toothpick, and she snorted contemptuously when she saw Reccoom howling like a baby.  
  
"I thought that he was supposed to be a member of the Ginyu Force, not the Goo-Goo Force. I shouldn't have left my bottle of warm milk in the room." Jaden shook her head in embarrassment at Reccoom's antics.  
  
Balair said slyly, "And so the shadow of the great beast falls upon us all…"  
  
Jaden growled under her breath, but said only, "And the greater beast has returned, the so-called conquering hero who annihilated the Heptani. I saw the corpse of that cute little Heptani girl that you brought back with you and donated to the Science Division, Balair. What happened? Did you break your new toy when she didn't work like you wanted her to? Did your new plaything's lifetime warranty expire that fast?"  
  
"Shut up, Jaden!" Balair growled. He was about to pounce on Jaden next until he saw Chestra strolling down the corridor at the other end of it. Then he smiled wickedly. He smirked at his archenemy, Jaden, whom he hated because she was of the Rybanese race (near-extinct main enemy of the Sistrai) and also because she had killed their former trainer, Sagash, one of the few people that Balair had admired and respected. He said to her smoothly, "You know what, Jadie, never mind. Even you can't ruin my good mood today."  
  
"You're in a good mood? Right! And Dodoria has started a diet!" Jaden sneered, although she was also a known grouch. Then she added with a nasty smile, "And Sagash has come back from the dead!"  
  
Balair hunched his shoulders and cut his eyes at her.  
  
Jeice, in one of his extremely rare wise moments, decided to interrupt before Jaden and Balair started Universe War Three. "Why are you in such a good mood, Balair?"  
  
Balair grinned, forgetting about his hatred of Jaden for now. "Well, I have a new amour, Jeice. Or she will be my amour soon. Have you and the others managed to see that luscious new recruit named Chestra yet? She is so be-yew-ti-ful; let me tell you! Gorgeous, sweet, adorable. I can't stop thinking of her! I already want to make her mine! She is all I am thinking about. I'm going to pin her to the floor and make her mine! Bow-wow! Ruff! Ruff!"  
  
"Who is she?" Guido asked.  
  
"I saw her with Zarbon, her trainer. Lord Frieza introduced her to Balair and I. She is a babe, let me tell you, men," Ginyu said lasciviously. "Long slender legs and arms, a nice perky chest, soft, shiny red and green hair, with one color on each side, framing a cat face with light green eyes-what a beauty. But it's her legs that make her delicious; too bad I can't induct her into the Ginyu Girls. Meow! Purr!"   
  
"What is this--a game of charades?" Jaden jeered. "First Reccoom imitates a baby-a very good impression, I might add, then Balair acts like a lovesick puppy dog, then Ginyu imagines himself a kitty cat. What next, Jeice pretending to be gay?"  
  
"Charades!" Reccoom crowed happily from the floor, as he wiped the drool off of his huge mouth. "I want to play charades!"  
  
Guido ignored him and told Jaden, "Well, we know that Jeice would never pretend to be gay, but Balair almost did the last time he was drunk-"  
  
Balair fixed his near-glowing yellow eyes in a deadly gaze at Guido. "Guido, don't you dare tell that story-"  
  
Guido fell silent, but Ginyu, who had more nerve than him, spoke up, "Alright, so Guido won't tell, but I will. Anyway, Jade, you should have been there at the Elite Lounge and Bar just before Balair went on his mission to Heptan. Balair was drunk off of his tail-"  
  
"Balair is always drunk off of his tail between assignments, so what's new about that?" Jaden asked curtly. "He's usually more lit up than a super nova."  
  
"Yeah," Jeice said, adding to Ginyu's story, "but he was so drunk, that he became horny-"  
  
"Which again is nothing new."  
  
"Jeice, I'm warning you and Ginyu-" Balair began angrily.  
  
"Yeah, Jade, but Balair wanted a Ginyu Girl, right, and none of the Ginyu Girls would come near him, but they don't normally go near him much anyway, so Balair instead hits on someone else, someone with long green hair, nice body-"  
  
"And great taste in clothes and jewelry!" Baata jumped in.  
"So Balair wraps his arms around his latest conquest, licking the neck, pressing his body against his target and nuzzling the throat. Then he told his conquest in a real, slurry voice, "I'd like to spar with you and pin you to the ground, so how about it, sweet green thing?" Jeice said with a smile.  
  
Ginyu laughed, ignoring Balair's deadly glare, and Jaden laughed along with him and the others. "Yeah, and then Balair's new amour transforms into a giant green Oozaru-like monster, boy was that thing ugly! What a waste of beauty! And then the green-Oozaru-like thing had a stretched out face and drooly mouth, and then the thing grabbed Balair by his throat and threw him across the room-"  
  
"And then Balair's new amour began shooting ki blasts at him right in the bar, right in front of everyone-" Jeice added.  
  
"And then Balair's almost-conquest told him that if he ever did what he did again, Balair wouldn't need to vaporize himself because the green thing would do it for him. Balair finally gave up and left, too plastered to argue. He then passed out in the corridor outside the bar, and Nappa, who was about drunk himself, thought that Balair was a new rug that Lord Frieza had ordered, and so Nappa stepped on Balair's tail…" Baata said, his voice trailing.  
  
"And he broke the tailbones in Balair's tail; Balair would have killed him if he hadn't been passed out," Ginyu added.  
"Yeah," said Guido, regaining his courage. "I heard that King Vegeta, who had been visiting the ship at the time, almost had Nappa flogged for being drunk on duty."  
  
"But I don't get it," Jaden said, "Who was it that Balair was making a pass at?"  
  
The entire Ginyu Force laughed, and when Jeice whispered the answer in Jaden's hidden ear, Jaden fell to the floor, laughing so hard that she was crying.  
  
"This is rich! Balair couldn't even get a MAN to go to bed with him! Balair, I knew your love life sucked, but I didn't know that it sucked that bad that you had to pursue a man!" Jaden couldn't stop laughing.  
  
"At least I have a love life," Balair snapped. "It's more than what you have, you frigid ice-queen!"  
  
"Oh, good comeback, Balair!" Jaden said devilishly, happy to see her archenemy humiliated and embarrassed. "I can't believe that you licked ZARBON'S neck; I knew that you used to kiss his butt, but lick him? You were desperate that night, weren't you?"  
  
Ginyu crowed, "Okay, men, on a count of three; let's sing our new version of the Song of Joy and do the Dance of Love, ready?"  
  
"READY!" the other men echoed.  
  
The Ginyu Force gathered into their ballet-like poses, danced a dance similar to ring-around-a-rosy, and they all sang,  
  
"Balair and Zarbon blowing up a tree  
K.I.S.S.I.N.G!  
First comes love, then comes marriage!  
Then comes Balair and Zarbon with a baby carriage!  
But that's not all, that's not all!  
Balair's baby was drinking al-kee-hol (just like his daddy)!"  
  
Balair fired several well-placed ki blasts at the Ginyu Force, who just danced around his ki missiles and continued to taunt him.  
  
Finally, after a few minutes, the Ginyu Force and Jaden stopped giving Balair a hard time-for now, anyway. Ginyu spoke up, "Well, I know one thing, men, I intend to ask that little cute recruit of Zarbon's out for a lunar shake and a foamy glass of Crystal Blue Persuasion." Crystal Blue Persuasion was the favorite alcoholic drink of almost everyone in the Elite.  
  
"I bet that you'll land her in bed in no time, Cap'n," Baata said encouragingly.  
  
"I plan to," Ginyu said with a wicked grin.  
  
"Oh no, you don't, you dancing, empty cranium with horns; I called her first! She's mine!" Balair growled.  
  
"Yeah right," Ginyu snapped. "Chestra is going to want a man with brains."  
  
"Well, in that case, then both of you have an equal chance with her," Jaden (who didn't think much of either Balair's brains or Ginyu's brains) told her fellow officers.   
  
"I have more style!" Ginyu boasted.  
  
"That area you do have Balair beat in," Jaden admitted wickedly.  
  
"No one asked you, you icy Rybanese wench!" Balair snapped. "Besides, everyone knows that I have more strength, stamina, and prowess!"  
  
"The prowess part is certainly true," Jaden said slyly. "We all know that you demonstrated that a few weeks ago with our fearless leader, Zarbon. He could tell us all about it, right, Balair?"  
  
The entire Ginyu Force roared with laughter; Balair roared with fury.  
  
"You'll pay for that, Jaden!" Balair hissed.  
  
"Put it on my bill," Jaden told him cheerily.  
  
"Well, I'll bet anyone in here that I get Chestra into bed before Balair does!" Ginyu boasted. "Any takers?"  
  
"I'll get on your bet," Balair sneered. "But I am betting that I jump Chestra's bones before you will."  
  
"Then we agree," Ginyu said confidently. "Whoever gets Chestra as their woman first, wins. If I win, you, Balair, will have to don the dress of one of King Cold's concubines and wear it, dancing the Dance of Joy and singing the Song of Joy at the Biannual Full Staff Meeting, Fair, And Banquet in front of Lord Frieza and King Cold at the end of this year. We will end the bet on the day before then."  
  
"Fine, Ginyu," Balair said, "And if I win Chestra before then, then you must also wear the dress of one of King Cold's concubines, but you will have to read a love poem or letter to a male Elite officer, any officer as long as he's male. I will compose it for you. And you must dance your stupid Dance of Love around him, and then kiss him full on the lips!"  
  
"Fine!" Ginyu said in agreement. "Oh, and one last thing, Balair…the loser must be the slave of the winner for an entire month afterwards."  
  
"Fine with me," Balair told him.  
  
"Want to shake on it?" Ginyu asked.  
  
"I wouldn't touch you with a ten-light-year pole!" Balair gagged.  
  
"Fine, but it's still settled."  
  
"Fine!"  
  
"Good luck, Ginyu, 'cause you're going to need it badly."  
  
"With you reputation for scaring women off, Bali, you'll need it more than I do. Come on men, it's time to work on the new pose that I thought of within seconds of declaring this bet-the Dance of Victory! It's about time that we had one of those! Off, we go, men!" And the Ginyu Force followed their fearless and (wise?) leader, Ginyu, down the corridors.  
  
Jaden smirked evilly, as she too left Balair. She privately thought that Chestra deserved better than both of those clowns, and then a devious plan came to her.  
  
What if both men lost the bet? Then what would happen. Jaden had nothing personal against Ginyu, but she thought that Chestra, from what little that she knew of her, was better off without Ginyu--or Balair.  
  
Especially Balair.   
  
Jaden saw this as a rare chance to trip up Balair--and to show Frieza just what a fool ran the Ginyu Force.  
  
She decided to find Chestra. The poor girl at least deserved to know what the clown and the bastard were planning. If she wound up with one of them anyway, Jaden would think the girl a fool; she, Jaden, would have done all that she could do.  



	7. Chapter Seven: Balair Makes His Move

Chapter Seven: Balair Makes His Move  
  
Two hours later  
  
But it would not be Jaden who would reach Chestra first; it would be Balair.  
  
The Sistrai warrior quickly found his prey talking to another warrior, a handsome humanoid Low-Level officer named Druce, a Gemstarian warrior. Druce had white hair and deep blue eyes, and Head Commander Zarbon's newest recruit fascinated him already. He was questioning Chestra about her past and race (which Chestra did not know at all) while trying to flirt with her. Chestra was amused with him, but she did not take him seriously as a potential date.  
  
Druce noticed Balair watching them, and Balair spoke quickly before Druce could warn Chestra about him, "LL Officer Druce, I wish to speak to VR Chestra alone. You are needed now to patrol the outer corridors of the mother ship."  
  
"Yes, Commander," Druce said reluctantly. He knew that there were more than enough LL officers patrolling the outer corridors, but he could not disobey Balair. He pitied Chestra for being left alone with Balair, but Druce knew that he was not strong enough to defy Third Lieutenant Commander Balair, the most vicious of all of Lord Frieza's Top Elite officers. Druce looked at Chestra sorrowfully and left.  
  
Balair grinned devilishly at Chestra, and Chestra instinctively put her mental guard up. She had seen and known too many Sistrai males on planet Sistra not to know what that frightening expression on Balair's reptilian face meant. Balair had been hoping to get her alone, and he was planning on "courting" her, in the Sistrai manner. Chestra immediately disliked him; she had met too many of his type before, Sistrai and non-Sistrai. He reminded her unpleasantly of some of her masters, particularly that heinous army general on planet Sistra…  
  
But Balair was a commanding officer of Frieza's Top Elite, her superior, so Chestra knew that she had to be polite. To a certain extent, that is.  
  
"Hello, Commander Balair," she told him calmly. She knew by now that VR meant "voluntary recruit" and LL meant "Low-Level", so she did not question him about those. She had only seen Balair once, but she had heard of him before then and knew that he was Sistrai. "What have you come to see me about?"  
  
Balair smiled amiably, as amiably as possible for a vicious Sistrai warrior such as himself. "I have heard good things about you, VR Chestra, and those things have pleased me greatly. Plus, I figured that I would like to get to know you better-"  
  
"In what way?" Chestra asked evenly, careful not to let her nervousness show.  
  
Balair was not one to beat around the bush. He said bluntly, "I was hoping maybe as a fellow officer and potential date. Lord Frieza's mother ship is about to land on Planet Frieza Number Twenty, and it is a great place to go, with amusement parks, parties, and bars. I could be your escort and show you around."  
  
Chestra smiled pleasantly and said kindly, "Thank you, Commander, but I am afraid that I will have to decline your invitation. I am busy training with Zarbon, and my first Recruit Evaluation is coming up, so I will not have time to date or go anywhere." Before Balair could say anything else, he and Chestra noticed a supernova exploding thousands of light-years away from the mother ship. Chestra watched with fascination, and then she grew a little sad, for the last time that she had seen a supernova was at the Ghetti royal family party for her twelfth birthday, a beautiful explosion, just before her adoptive family had been murdered…  
  
Balair glanced now and then at the supernova, but he noticed the wistful expression on his potential conquest's face. "Why the long face, sweetness?" he asked her, dropping all formalities.  
  
Chestra ignored his pet name and replied a bit forlornly, "Just thinking of one of my childhood homes, the best home of my life, the best family that I had ever lived with…" Her voice trailed off then, for she did not really want to share such moments with Balair.  
She decided to change the subject. "This supernova is beautiful, isn't it? Lovely, like a thousand stars dancing together at once in a pool of fire…"  
  
"It is lovely," Balair agreed, as his thick, blood red hand ventured to the red side of Chestra's tresses. He dared to run his muscular fingers through the thick, silky strands, and his fingers lightly danced under her right shoulder flank. Chestra abruptly pushed away from him, and she shot him a deterrent glare, which Balair ignored. He was used to women giving him that look by now.  
  
"The supernova is lovely, but not nearly as lovely as you," Balair crooned, as he advanced on her. His right meaty, muscular arm encircled Chestra's tiny waist, and she swiftly removed it from her body. She looked directly into his yellow eyes with her jade-green ones, a look telling him to back away.  
  
"Keep your hands to yourself, Commander," she said in a firm voice that was heavy with warning.  
  
Balair wasn't about to give up. He moved closer to Chestra. "Are you sure that you want me to do that, sweetness? I really would like to get to know you better," he told her salaciously with a leer.  
  
Chestra stood tall and firm for her four-feet and seven inches, not about to be intimidated by this man who towered her by a good few feet. "Leave me alone, Commander, and I mean it. I am not interested in you that way, nor will I ever be. Do not touch me again."  
  
Balair lowered his eyes and smiled wickedly, his sharp, pointed teeth lining his mouth like a picket fence on Earth. "You really don't mean that, do you, sweetness?" he purred, as he stepped so close to her that his chin was brushing against the top of her red and green hair.   
  
Chestra tried to move away from him, but Balair swiftly grabbed her with both hands before she could do so. Chestra realized then that she should have fled earlier, but she still wasn't about to give in to Balair, whether he was her superior or not.   
  
He pushed her up against the wall before she could react, pressing his lower half of his body against hers, pinning her between him and the shiny metal wall. His hand dared to stroke her bottom, and he crushed his tooth-encrusted lips against hers. Chestra smelled and tasted vodka and rotting food on his reptile breath and fought down the urge to vomit.  
  
She closed her eyes hard, focusing her mind. Balair mistakenly took this as a sign that she was giving in to his advances, and he flicked out his long tongue to lick her neck.  
  
That mistake would prove to be nearly fatal.  
  
A force stronger than Balair's force looped the tongue around his thick neck like a rope, strangling him. Balair could not control his tongue at all, as his own tongue was strangling him. His body and arms flew backwards away from Chestra against his will. It seemed as if a ghost was controlling his body, shoving him against the wall. Balair could not move or fight the unseen force crushing him against the metal wall. His tongue was still strangling him, and he could not slide it back into his mouth, no matter how hard he tried.  
  
Chestra was staring at her tormentor, with her eyes seeming to be staring off into space. Her expression was flat, emotionless, as she expertly used her telekinetic powers to crush Balair's body against the wall and use his own tongue to strangle him. Her mind pinned her attacker against the wall of the corridor, and Balair could not move at all. Balair struggled vainly against her unknown mind powers, but it was no use. Chestra then used her mind to telekinetically throw Balair up against the wall repeatedly several times. She stood there calmly, focusing her mind fully on attacking the Sistrai commander who had dared to touch her without her consent. Using her mind, she flung Balair against the wall harder and harder each time until some of his ribs cracked. With a blink of her pale green eyes, she threw her tormentor down the corridor where he crashed like a boulder into the floor of the hall. Balair was moaning and groaning now, unable to move without extreme pain.  
  
Chestra freed her mind, returning her focus back to normal. She then called to her assailant, "Maybe that will teach you to keep your hands to yourself, you lecherous Sistrai creep!"  
  
Balair grumbled and growled, but he was in too much pain now to go after Chestra. He just lay there in shock, and his anger increased when he heard a familiar laugh.  
  
Jaden was chuckling at Balair's misery. She had just come back from having a small lunch at the Elite Lounge and Bar (small to her meant fifteen double bacon cheeseburgers, a bucket of parsnip fries and three mugs of Crystal Blue Persuasion, followed with two chocolate and cherry pies for desert).  
  
"What the hell happened to you, Bali?" she asked, with no real concern.  
  
"Jaden, you can eat sh-"  
  
Jaden laughed. "Such nice language you have, Balair!" She, however, had no room to talk, for she had the second dirtiest mouth in Top Elite next to her Sistrai archenemy.  
  
She then saw Chestra shooting Balair a look of pure disgust, and Jaden guessed that Balair had already tried to make a play for her, from the looks of Chestra's slightly bruised lips and mussed hair. Jaden left Balair lying there on the floor, and she strolled casually over to Balair's attacker.  
  
"So you did all of this to Balair?" Jaden asked her, amused. "Is this how you normally treat your dates, Chestra?"  
  
"Only if they are Sistrai or trying to force themselves on me without my consent, and in this case Balair was both. I already told him that I wasn't interested," Chestra told her boldly.   
  
But then a small kernel of worry festered in her, for what if Jaden decided to write her up and report her actions to Zarbon and Frieza? Jaden had the authority to do that.  
  
"Do you intend to report me for this, Commander Jaden?" Chestra asked her steadily. "I realize that I should have not attacked a commanding officer, but he had no business in touching me without my permission."  
  
"No, he didn't," Jaden agreed. "And no, Chestra, you don't have to worry about me reporting you. Balair might though, but he deserved what you gave him. You were more merciful on him than I would have been."  
  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"I would have killed him on the spot."  
  
  
Jaden had wanted to leave Balair lying there on the corridor floor for the rest of the evening, but Chestra insisted that they at least call some of the medical staff to assist him. It had been Chestra's intention to teach Balair a lesson, not kill him. Jaden thought that Chestra should have done the latter, but in the end, she had reluctantly called Medical to come pry Balair off of the floor.  
  
After that, Jaden and Chestra went to one of the soldiers' sitting rooms in the recreation area of Frieza's mother ship. They had stopped by the Soldier's Snack Bar and Supply Shop for snacks (a snack to Jaden was four jumbo-sized bags of blue potato chips from planet Tato and a giant can of parsnip dip). Chestra, who had a normal appetite, had opted for two banana and orange fruitcakes and half of one of Jaden's bags of chips.   
  
Jaden had paid for her snacks, for Chestra would be earning no money until she was officially inducted as one of Frieza's soldiers. Recruits, voluntary and involuntary, worked without pay until after their Final Evaluations, and Frieza paid for their minimum expenses of food and supplies. If recruits wanted any extras, they would have to rely on Elite officers to finance them until after their Final Evaluations.   
  
"I appreciate this, Commander," Chestra told her thankfully, as she ate one of her fruitcakes.  
  
"No problem," Jaden told her gruffly. "I was a recruit myself, so I know how it is to go without anything above bare necessities. You are one of the luckier recruits, do you realize that?"  
  
"How come? Because I am voluntary?"  
  
"That, and because not all recruits are lucky to have one of the Top Elite officers personally train them. Most recruits, especially involuntary ones, are usually trained by Mid-Elite and Lower-Elite soldiers in groups in the barracks. Most of those recruits will never become anything more than Low-Levels. It is only the recruits, voluntary and involuntary, who are considered potentials for the Elite that are trained personally by Top Elite Officers. In those cases, most Top Elite Officers personally finance their trainees and put them on their accounts. I have heard that Zarbon plans to put you on his account. Don't refuse him, if he does, for you will find that there are many things that you will need to buy that Lord Frieza does not cover."  
  
"I will keep that in mind, thank you."  
  
"Where are you from, kid?" Jaden asked her. "What race are you from?"  
  
Chestra took a deep breath. "I don't know what or whom I am descended from," she told her. "I have been a slave almost all of my life." And in the half-hour that followed, she told Jaden her life story.  
  
When she had finished, Jaden was impressed (and saddened, although she did not show it). Jaden was not normally impressed or interested in other people's recruits, but she found something in this new girl that she did not find in another person every day: a kindred spirit. Like Jaden, Chestra's life had not been handed to her on a silver platter, and like Jaden, she had been a slave to others all of her life, with the exception of those years on planet Ghetti. Jaden was amazed already by the strange young woman's maturity and self-confidence, especially after Chestra had kicked around Balair and gave the perverted bastard what he so richly deserved. Jaden already liked Chestra for that alone, for it was not every female that could stand up to Balair, fight back against him, and live to tell the tale.  
  
When she finally told Chestra about the bet between Captain Ginyu and Balair, Chestra asked calmly, "Is this Captain like Balair?"  
  
"He won't try to rape you, if that's what you're asking," Jaden told her. "But he'll have his own seduction methods in mind, including his infamous Dance of Joy and Dance of Love. But you don't want him either, for he's stupider than Balair. He is a good warrior, but he made it into Top Elite partially because he is Lord Frieza's first cousin, and King Cold's favorite nephew. The fighters in his Force are strong, but no smarter than him. You may find that Jeice or Baata will try to make a move on you sooner or later. You've pretty much stroked the libidos of almost all of the males in Top Elite, kid."  
  
There is only one libido that I wish to stroke, and that is Zarbon's, Chestra thought to herself gleefully, unconsciously mouthing the words. A mischievous smile spread across her cat face, and Jaden noticed.  
  
"You like Zarbon, eh?" Jaden asked.   
  
Chestra realized too late that she had spoken her thoughts out loud under her breath. She blushed slightly. Jaden laughed.  
  
"You know that you can't have a chance with him until after you pass your Final Evaluation, right? No sexual or romantic relationships between trainers and recruits, that's the rule, kid."  
  
Chestra nodded, her white cheeks still tinted pink.   
  
"How old is he?" she whispered. "He never told me."  
  
"In his sixties, believe it or not," Jaden told her. "He was in his position as Head Commander when I first came to Frieza. That was a long time ago. He's old enough to be your granddaddy, but he does look good for someone of his race. His race ages at a very slow rate. He'd be fine as a mate, I suppose, although he's a dandy, foppish and effeminate. He dresses very well and constantly is mindful of a good appearance."  
  
"I find the effeminate part hard to believe," Chestra asserted. "He seems very manly to me."  
  
"Yeah, but how many men do you know constantly groom their hair and wear fine jewelry? Think about it, kid."  
  
"Maybe, but I like him anyway. I see him as very masculine."  
  
Jaden rolled her eyes, but said nothing, for after all, Chestra was only eighteen years old. Chestra had much life experience, but Jaden thought that there were still a few things that she could learn. Well, at least that incident with Balair hadn't permanently scarred her; Jaden had to keep from laughing every time she thought of Chestra taking down Balair the way that she did without lifting a finger.  
  
She just hoped that Balair wouldn't plan on seeking revenge anytime soon. Despite Chestra's obvious affection for Zarbon, Jaden found herself liking her (genuinely liking someone was rare for the Rybanese warrior).  
  
Now what do about Ginyu…hmm…  



	8. Chapter Eight: Jaden's Past And The Hist...

Chapter Eight: Jaden's Past And The History Of Her Family  
  
Chestra thought for a moment about the way that Jaden had behaved towards Balair. The young recruit already sensed that Jaden and Balair did not like each other, and being new, she decided to ask Jaden about it.  
  
"I heard you put down Balair. Not that I hold it against you, but you and Balair must really hate each other's guts," Chestra observed.  
  
"I have my reasons," Jaden told her simply. "Balair and I have never been the best of friends."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"What is this? Twenty Questions?" Jaden asked a bit sharper than she had intended to.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry into such a sensitive subject," Chestra told her contritely.  
  
"It's alright, kid, it's not your fault. I guess maybe I should tell you, if you promise not to spread the story around." Jaden didn't normally tell much about herself, but it was not every day that she found someone that she felt that she could confide in.  
  
"I have no problems in keeping a secret, never have. I suspected that you two didn't like each other, well because you are Rybanese, and he is Sistrai. One of my masters was Rybanese, and he told me about the deadly feud between Ryban and Sistra, a feud that had been going on for centuries."  
  
"You had a Rybanese master? Oh, yeah, that's right, you told me; he was the one that you had agreed to marry before he was killed. How did you wind up falling for him?" Jaden wanted to know.  
  
"I liked him tremendously, but I don't know it was what many would call love. He was kind to me after a while, and he kissed me a few times. Nykan was gruff and strict, but he could be nice and caring with the right person."  
  
"Wait a minute," Jaden interrupted. "Was this Tempancoli Nykan of Hershal, known to be one of the greatest trainers of slave fighters in the arenas?"  
  
"Yes," Chestra told her hesitantly. "Why?"  
  
"I am a Tempancoli, and Nykan was my uncle. My people were destroyed four years ago, and I only got to visit my home planet five times in the past eighteen years that I had been forced to work for Lord Frieza. Uncle Nykan told me about his most prized fighters, a strange girl with red and green hair that he called 'Kestura Stari', a slave girl fighter that he had planned to marry. Did you happen to be this Kestura?"  
  
"Yes, I was. I remember that Rybanese always gave their slaves Rybanese names, and 'Kestura Stari' meant 'Bright and Bold Star' in your language. He told me that my face reminded him of a star cast in a supernova. I never thought that Rybanese men could be that poetic."  
  
"He was a rare one. I visited him on the last time before those cursed Hycanese destroyed my people. Uncle Nykan had tried to buy my freedom from Frieza several times, but Lord Frieza would refuse each time no matter how much he would offer. He apologized to me that last time that I saw him, and he told me that there was nothing more that he could do, for Lord Frieza told him that if he, or any other Rybanese came to him about me again, he would destroy everyone in the Tempancoli Tribe. I think the Sistrai and Hycanese had much to do with Lord Frieza's attitude towards my people."  
  
Chestra contemplated Jaden's words for a moment. "You are a slave as well?"  
  
"May as well be, but I am one of the luckier ones," Jaden admitted quietly. "Considering that I was once an IVR-that's involuntary recruit, my ascension to Top Elite is quite an accomplishment. Yes, Chestra, like you, I was sold to Frieza. My cowardly father sold me to him in order to spare his own neck and the necks of my three older brothers, but it did him and them no good."  
  
"Anyway, my full name is Tempancoli Jadenia Hirmeshadaka, (surnames always first) but I only go by 'Jaden', which is the masculine version of 'Jadenia'. My mother named me 'Jadenia' after a Rybanese flower because she thought that I was beautiful like that pink and white flower, even though you can see that I am ugly as hell. She was one of three people who ever thought that I lived up to my name, which means 'beautiful, gracious one'. My father knew that I was uglier than dirt, and he shortened my name to 'Jaden' after my mother died when I was about two because he thought that I looked and acted more like a boy. He was a cold bastard, stern, stiff, and disapproving of me because I was a girl. But he taught me how to fight and take care of myself and not give a crap about what others thought of me. Those were the only things that he really did for me because he showed how much he cared for me by selling me to Lord Frieza to spare his life and the lives of my brothers, none of whom cared for me either."  
  
"How awful for a father to sell his child?"  
  
"I wish that he would have at least sold me to Uncle Nykan, if he had been desperate to get rid of me, but I guess that he didn't have much of a choice. I still hate him for it though, and it did him no good anyway."  
  
"How did that happen?"  
  
Jaden sighed and massaged her temples, as she leaned her large blue body back against the back of the dark green recliner that she was lounging in. It had been eighteen years since her father had sold her to Frieza to save his own neck and the necks of her brothers. She had never entirely forgiven him, and his coldness towards her before that had hurt Jaden's once-young heart...  
  
Eighteen years ago  
  
Her father had been a bill collector for a major Rybanese interplanetary foreign food company, foreign as in foods from other planets. A trained warrior as well, he had taken his four children, three older sons as well as Jaden to other planets to collect the debts owed to Rishal Interplanetary Feasts. If the debtors didn't pay right away, he had the authority to beat them up, or kill their family members to make a point. He usually would get his company's bills paid quickly that way. He had taught Jaden and her brothers to fight as well, and they would help their father to collect the debts and see that the debtors paid up promptly. Jaden could still remember being forced to kill one of a debtor's relatives when she had only been eight years old.  
  
Unfortunately, one of the debtors had happened to be Frieza himself, and Jaden's father's boss had been an ignoramus who foolishly thought that Rishal Interplanetary Feasts would actually be able to bully Frieza into paying his bills to them. So Jaden's father had taken his four children to confront Frieza on his mother ship when they had tricked Frieza into capturing their ship and crew. Of course, Frieza had not taken well to paying his debts, and he had all of them captured in no time. Jaden had unbelievably been the strongest out of her family, much to her father's surprise. She alone had managed to kill a few of his strongest Elite officers, which had attracted Frieza's attention. It had been a good thing because it had caused Frieza to decide to spare her life, and a bad thing because Jaden would eventually be forced to become one of Frieza's minions.  
  
After a hard battle, Frieza had Jaden's family captured, and he had Zarbon and Sagash, who had been a Top Elite officer at the time, beat up the family afterwards. Finally, Frieza had agreed to pay his debts to Rishal in exchange for Jaden. He had also agreed to spare the lives of Jaden's father and brothers, as well.  
  
Jaden's father, Dak, had not considered Jaden to be worth much to him, for he had stupidly still thought her the weakest because she was the youngest and a girl, so he had readily sold her to Frieza when she had only been twelve years old. Jaden had still cared for her selfish father and brothers, so she had done everything that Frieza had wanted her to do and more.  
  
He had given her to Sagash to train. Jaden thought that Sagash had been a bigger bastard than her father. Sagash was half-Egimarian and half-Sistrai, resembling a red Egimarian, but he had all of the Sistrai traits. Sagash, who had been one of the most popular out of Frieza's Elite fighters, as well as one of Frieza's most favored, had been training Balair and Dodoria at the same time. Jaden was his third student that he had to train.  
  
Sagash had called Jaden cruel names and belittled her because she happened to be Rybanese, the main enemy of the SIstrai, a race that Sagash identified more with than the Egimarians. To the present day, however, Jaden would have preferred his hatred and prejudice to his eventual desire for her.  
  
A few months after Jaden had become his recruit, Sagash had called Jaden to his Elite bedroom. Jaden never forgot that night, for it would be the real beginning of her end to what innocence that she had left. Sagash had been stark naked when Jaden had entered his bedroom, and Jaden tried to flee, but Sagash had vaporized himself, and he was able to solidify himself directly in front of her.  
  
Jaden had been twice as small as she was now, and Sagash had easily overpowered her before she could escape. Sagash had forced Jaden to lie on his bed with him, and he hit her several times to make her submit to him. He had pinned his student beneath him, and he had caressed and kissed her for hours, telling her that she was beautiful and strong, even though she was Rybanese. Jaden never forgot his cruel laughter, a horrible, raspy, scratchy laugh that would haunt her dreams for years to come...  
  
"Who'd ever thought that I would want to jump the bones of a Rybanese girl? I can't believe that a Rybanese brat would be beautiful like you and smell so sweet. I'm glad that you bathed before you came here; I like having my fun with a clean-smelling female. Relax, Jadenia, I'm not going to screw you just yet; I'm not some young punk like Balair and Dodoria, who aren't patient enough to wait. I want you, girl, and you're going to be mine. You have no idea how much you turn me on, do you? You're going to be my woman, as well as my student. I like young girls, even if they are Rybanese ones. Your name 'Jadenia' certainly suits you alright, and I'll think that I'll call you by that for now on when we we're alone. You feel so good beneath me, you know that, Jadenia? We fit greatly together, don't we?"  
  
Jaden had threatened him. "Get off of me, or I'm going to Lord Frieza! I know that he said that no sex was allowed between trainers and recruits!"  
  
Sagash had laughed. "Like he's going to believe a troublesome little IVR like you! No one is going to believe you, Jadenia, over me, a Top Elite officer, and one of Frieza's favorites. And on the slim chance that anyone would believe you, I'd get Balair and Dodoria to back me up and shut you up. They're loyal to me, sweetheart, like you better learn to be. I intend to make you mine once you pass your Final Evaluation-"  
  
"I won't pass it then!" Jaden hissed. "I won't even take it!"  
  
Sagash had slapped her face hard then. "You will take it, and you will pass it, Jadenia! If you fail it, you know that you and your family will die, right? Think about that carefully, girl, before you do anything rash." He had taken her throat in his thick, crumbling stone-like hand then and squeezed it just hard enough for young adolescent Jaden to get the message. "And you will be visiting me like this more often, baby, because I have big plans for you. I'm not going to screw you for a while, yet, so just relax; all you have to do is let me do what I want to do with you, and do what I want you to do with me. I like you, babycakes, despite your rebelliousness; I like a girl with some spirit, but not too much."  
  
He had kissed her hard then, forcing his long Sistrai-like tongue down into her mouth, gagging her, barely allowing her to breathe. Then he had made his victim/ student touch and kiss him all over, especially that special area between his legs.  
  
After that, even though, he had not yet raped her, Jaden had never been the same. She was harder afterwards, and much more bitter and angry. She did everything that Sagash wanted, and she trained hard under him, fixated on one of her new primary goals: to become stronger than Sagash and then destroy him.  
  
During the next three years of her training under her molester, Jaden's family had gone back to work, thinking little of the terrified, angry little sister who was now Frieza's slave and Sagash's new toy and student. Sagash had only allowed Jaden to visit them twice on Ryban, and the second time, Jaden had confessed to her father what Sagash had been doing to her, for he had continued to molest her. Jaden's father had been indifferent, and he had asked her what she expected him to do about it.  
  
"Kill Sagash! Buy me back from Frieza, please, father! I know that you have enough money now to do so, now that your boss gave you a big raise! Please don't let Sagash take me back to Frieza, please! Save me, Father, please! Sagash is going to rape me, eventually; I know it, and I am so scared!"  
  
"I am sorry, Jaden, but you are no longer my concern or worry. You should be telling Frieza this, not me. You are his problem now, since he bought you from me. And you must be brave, Jaden, and not let your emotions show. You know that if you don't pass your Final Evaluation, Frieza will have us killed, and even your brothers' families will surely perish. What is your one life compared to the lives of those who are free and prosperous? Do you really want to see your brothers killed just because you can't handle someone lusting after you? You know that you are no beauty, Jaden, and that it would have been hard for me to find you a husband. You are lucky that someone desires you at all, and think about it this way, Jaden: if you pass your Final Evaluation, you may become the mate of an important Top Elite Officer of Frieza's. Top Elite Officers have everything, and you would be comfortably well off. Think of this Sagash as a way to improve your status; if you obey him and be good to him, he will surely treat you right as his mate-"  
  
"Father, he is half-Sistrai and half-Egimarian, and both Sistra and Egimari are our enemies. Please, you surely don't want me with someone like him, please save me, Father!"  
But Dak had turned a deaf ear and cold shoulder to his daughter's pleas, and Jaden had been forced to go back with Sagash to Frieza.  
  
That had been the last time that Jaden would ever see her father alive, for six months afterward, Rishal Interplanetary Feasts, which Dak had bought out for himself, had delivered slightly spoiled food to Frieza that had contained deadly bacteria, which had killed some of Frieza's minions and made Frieza very ill. Frieza had ordered Dak and his entire family murdered, along with all of the employees of Rishal. Frieza had told the government of Ryban that if they retaliated against him for the deaths of the employees of Rishal Interplanetary Feasts, he would destroy Ryban and all of her occupants. The Rybanese government had known that they were not strong enough to defy Frieza and attack him, so they could do nothing, but heavily compensate the families of the murdered Rishal employees.  
  
Tempancoli Nykan, the brother of Tempancoli Dak had not forgotten his relatives' murders, and he vowed vengeance against Frieza, even if the Rybanese government had ordered their people not to retaliate or plan revenge. He had also worked for Rishal, but he abandoned the food industry for the slave industry. He trained hard, and he had trained his slaves, all fighters, to become as strong as him, in hopes that one day he could lead them against Frieza and destroy the tyrant once and for all.  
  
He also vowed to free his niece, Tempancoli Jadenia, from Frieza's grasp, and he had told Jaden so on her third visit home. Nykan had tried to buy his niece back from Frieza several times, but Frieza had rebuffed him each time. He had even ordered Sagash to keep his filthy half-Sistrai, half-Egimari hands off of his niece, or he would kill him. (Nykan had a strong hatred and prejudice for all Sistrai and Egimarians.) He and Sagash had jumped into a physical brawl with each other, and Sagash had quickly put Nykan in his place. Jaden had begged her uncle then not to get into any more physical brawls with her trainer because she feared for his life. Nykan had no choice, but to agree.  
  
  
Afterwards, shortly before her Final Evaluation, Sagash had called all of his students to his Elite bedroom for a "private party". Balair and Dodoria had already passed their Final Evaluations that had taken them straight into Top Elite, and they both loved to bully Jaden and make life miserable for her whenever they could. They never molested Jaden the way that Sagash did, but they would do childish, petty, and horrific things to her such as put sand in her bed, burn her with some of Sagash's cigars, and force her to walk around the corridors with her top off. They loved to steal her possessions and spoil her food and drinks by peeing into them and forcing her to consume them. Several times, on introductory missions to clear planets, Balair and Dodoria would often leave her to fend for herself, like letting her nearly drown to death in a tar pit, or let her fight their enemies alone, while they themselves fled for safety. Sagash let them do what they liked, except for two things: killing her, or molesting her.  
  
That night, however, all of those things would seem minor to Jaden, compared to what they did then.  
  
When Jaden had naively arrived for Sagash's private party, she had foolishly figured that Sagash wouldn't touch her in Balair and Dodoria's presence, since Sagash usually liked to do those things to her in private. She couldn't have refused to come anyway, for disobeying a Top Elite Officer trainer's orders was an automatic write-up.  
  
When she entered Sagash's bedroom, Balair and Dodoria had jumped her, quickly capturing her before she had a chance to flee. They threw her onto Sagash's bed, where they both pinned her down and chained her. They still continued to hold onto her, even though she had been chained, with Balair holding her wrists and Dodoria holding her ankles. Sagash had entered the bedroom then, naked, and he proceeded to molest her, kissing her and fondling her much more roughly than before. That night, he had finally raped her for the first time, while Balair and Dodoria had laughed cruelly at Jaden's screams and torment. Balair couldn't take any more of her screaming, so he stuffed a gag in her mouth to shut her up.  
  
When Sagash had finally satiated himself after raping his student several times, he asked Balair and Dodoria, if they would like a turn with her. Balair and Dodoria had laughed scornfully.  
  
"You have got to be kidding, Sags, if you think that I want to jump the bones of something as ugly and as damaged as her. I prefer my women pretty. I don't want to touch anything that is Rybanese," Balair said with a mock shudder.  
  
"Yeah, Sags, while it was great hearing her scream and cry, I have no desire for her. Ugh! You're a great teacher, Sagash, but you have poor taste in women!" Dodoria had jeered.  
  
"You don't know what you're missing, Bali and Dodi, she is a great screw. Of course I can't allow either one of you to have her for a mate because I've claimed her, but I'll let you guys have one turn with her apiece. After tonight, however, she's mine permanently."  
Jaden had just lain there, still pinned and chained down, terrified and shaken. Tears ran down her face, until they washed over her alligator face like a tidal wave. She was too afraid to speak, too afraid that Balair and Dodoria would take Sagash up on his cruel offer. She continued to cry and sob.  
  
That night would be the last time that Jaden would ever cry. Those would be the last tears that she would shed for a very long time. She silently vowed that night, as Sagash was boasting to Balair and Dodoria that she would not cry again until Sagash was dead.  
  
And he would be dead in her lifetime, if she could help it.  
  
She would destroy all four of them, for although Frieza himself had not raped her, she still held him responsible because he had forced her to work for him.  
  
All of them would pay-with their lives.  
  
She had renewed this vow after she had gone to Frieza the next day about what Sagash and the others had done to her. Sagash, of course, denied everything, and Balair and Dodoria had backed him up, saying that Jaden was lying.  
  
"She's had a crush on him for a while now, Lord Frieza," Balair had said, "and she's been hitting on him the entire time, even though Sagash had told her a romance between them wasn't possible." Dodoria and Sagash confirmed this false story.  
  
"She's good at telling stories, Lord Frieza," Dodoria had said. "She tells lies all of the time on Sagash to everyone, and Balair and I have to constantly dispel the false rumors she spreads."  
  
And Frieza had believed his three Top Elite Officers over one knowingly difficult, rebellious IVR. Frieza had even given Jaden a nasty lecture, "Jaden, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, maligning a fine officer like Sagash. I want these lies to stop, and for you to stop causing us problems. You're lucky that I even allowed you to live. I don't want to hear anymore of this nonsense, do you understand me, Jaden?"  
  
After that horrible day, on the day afterwards, Jaden had stumbled back to the recruit barracks, packed what few things that she had, and went straight to the soldiers guarding the way to the space pods. She killed all of the guards there, and she fled on one of the pods away from Frieza's mother ship. Jaden was determined to escape; there was no more reason for her to stay. Her family was dead.  
  
She had first fled to her home planet on her fourth visit to Ryban, where she had met up with her uncle Nykan. Nykan could not hide her for long, but he did make plans for her to flee farther away. He also taught Jaden a new attack that he had developed, using a bit of sorcery.  
  
"This is called the Glass Freeze, Jadenia. If you can weaken your opponents below a ki level of twenty thousand, you can turn them into glass and shatter their bodies, killing them for good. I would hide you here myself, but I can't, so I made plans for you to flee on a ship to planet Astoria. The Astorians are a strong, good people, Jadenia, and they will surely grant you asylum. They say that not even Frieza can take Astoria, and that Shalila Chloe, the queen there, killed Queen Frost single-handedly. Be careful, my niece, and while I probably will never see you again, remember that someone does care about you and want you to be happy. Promise me, Jadenia, that when you are safe and secure and away from Frieza, that you will be happy. Promise me now!"  
  
"I…I promise," Jaden gasped.  
  
"Good, and keep it for me."  
  
"I will."  
  
  
Jaden had fled away from Ryban to head towards Astoria, but Sagash and Balair had captured her within a few months of her escape when she had the misfortune to crash-land on planet Hambo, a planet that they had been raiding. Sagash and Balair had beaten her to a bloody pulp, nearly killing her, and Jaden wound up in the prisons for three months. Frieza had allowed her to live on one condition: that she take her Final Evaluation within the next month and pledge allegiance to him. He also threatened to kill her entire Tempancoli tribe, and a broken, defeated Jaden reluctantly agreed. She was tired of fighting the inevitable, and she knew that she would not be able to get away again for a long time.  
  
It had been Zarbon and Dodoria who had given her Final Evaluation, and Jaden, to everyone's surprise, had lasted and made her way into Mid-Elite. But Jaden's troubles did not stop there, for Sagash had raped her a second time on a mission that she had been forced to go with him. He had taken her into an empty, desolate field after they had cleared the planet that they had been on, and it had been cold and rainy. Sagash had assaulted and molested her several times that night.  
  
Years later, after losing a major war on one of planet Astoria's moons that became known as the Battle of Chloe, Sagash, angry over their losing to the Astorian race, had approached Jaden for the last time to assault her, looking for physical pleasure to relieve himself. He had been drunk that night and particularly nasty towards Jaden, and Jaden, who herself was recovering from that battle, was driven to her breaking point.  
  
She had already been victimized enough during the Battle of Chloe, in which Shalila Chloe had nearly killed her with her Electric Quake attack, and the nightmares of that battle continued to haunt Jaden. Sagash's touching her had been the proverbial straw that broke the Earth camel's back.  
  
In her anger and agony, she had fought back against Sagash, punching and kicking him and using all of his own techniques that he had taught her to cripple him. Sagash, who had been too drunk to put up a worthy fight, could barely hold his angry, resentful, hurting former student off. Jaden had shape shifted into an axe and any other sharp object, and with her shape shifting abilities, she chopped one of Sagash's arms and his private parts. Then she turned herself into a giant sword and stabbed him repeatedly, ignoring his cries for mercy.  
  
"P-please, Jadenia, don't do this, don't-"  
  
"How many times did I say those words to you, you sick, perverted bastard? How many times did I beg you not to touch me, not to rape me, to leave me alone? How many times did I beg for you to make Balair and Dodoria leave me alone? How many times did I hide from you, hoping that you would not come looking for me? How many times did I beg you for mercy, Sagash? You made me cry, you made me bleed, you took my virginity, what innocence I had, and my youth! I will never forgive you, Sagash, ever! I'm going to make you die, I'm going to make you bleed and suffer, I'm going to cut you up so you can't be put back together, and then when I kill you, I'm going to dance on your grave and spit on it!"  
  
Then she had pulled her hands back and cried out, "GLASS FREEZE!"  
  
And Sagash became a glass statue, a lovely sculpture of a dying warrior in agony. Jaden then pushed the glass statue of Sagash over onto the floor with her pinky finger. Sagash's body shattered into thousands of tiny glass fragments.  
That was when Frieza had come to see Jaden, and he noticed the glass pieces that had once been Sagash all over the corridor floor, and he asked her. "Where's Sagash?"  
  
"I killed him and turned him into glass," Jaden had told him honestly. "You may kill me if you wish, Lord Frieza, for I no longer have any desire to live."  
  
Frieza's expression had been unreadable at the time, and Jaden didn't know whether to be relieved that her life would soon be over, or dread how Frieza was going to send her to the next dimension. She stood there and waited calmly, not really happy about dying, but glad that her torment would finally come to an end. She had seen Frieza's eyes sweep over the broken glass pieces of Sagash's body.  
  
Frieza never ceased to amaze her, for his next words would change her life forever:  
  
"I am impressed with you, Jaden. Sagash's failure during the Battle of Chloe had convinced me to demote him or possibly even execute him. He made too many tactical mistakes, and he no longer was the warrior that he had once been. I never knew you had it in you until the Battle of Chloe, and even though you lost, your persistence and bravery amazed me. You have come a long way, Jaden, and you have saved me the trouble of dealing with Sagash myself. To reward you for this and your past efforts, I am giving you Sagash's Top Elite Position, for you have far surpassed your teacher. I cannot put you as Second Lieutenant as I had done him, but Fourth Lieutenant is not that far behind. Well done, Jaden, and I expect you to report to me this Friday, as my new Top Elite fighter."  
  
"Th-thank you, Lord Frieza," Jaden had replied shakily.  
  
"You will not fail me, I trust," Frieza had told her. "I know that you have learned from your mistakes in the Battle of Chloe. You and I may never be the best of friends, but we don't have to be adversaries. Farewell, Fourth Lieutenant Commander Jaden."  
  
And with that, Frieza had walked away, without a trace of pity for Sagash, or anger at Jaden for killing his once-favorite officer.  
  
  
Balair and Dodoria had been infuriated when Jaden had come to Frieza's that Friday, proudly wearing the armor of a Top Elite officer, with cape and all.  
  
"What the hell are you doing wearing a Top Elite Officer's uniform?" Balair had demanded to know.  
  
Frieza had smiled benevolently as possible for an evil tyrant like himself. "Sagash has failed me, and Jaden was nice enough to finish him off for me, without my knowing about until later. So I have rewarded her with a Top Elite position, although she will not have the same rank as he did. Jaden is our new Fourth Lieutenant Commander in Top Elite."  
  
"Over my dead Sistrai body!" Balair had roared. "She killed Sagash! Sagash was our friend and comrade, Lord Frieza! How could you forget him so easily? How can you reward Jaden for killing such a fine officer and friend? Did Sagash mean that little to you, Lord Frieza?"  
  
"I agree," Dodoria had added vociferously. "Sagash has served you faithfully and devotedly for all the years of his service, Lord Frieza! How can you just dishonor him like this?"  
  
"Sagash has failed me, and I had no more use for him anyway," Frieza told them heartlessly. "You and Balair may mourn in private, Dodoria, but my decision stands. Jaden is now part of Top Elite, and that is final. I expect you two to show her the ropes."  
  
"Oh, I'll show that Rybanese whore the ropes alright-around her neck!" And with that, Balair had lunged at Jaden. He and Jaden fought, kicking and punching each other until she managed to throw Balair against the wall, breaking his tail and knocking him out of commission. She would have finished him off the same way as she had done to Sagash, but Frieza ordered her to stop.  
  
"That will be enough, Jaden. I believe that you sent Balair a message loud and clear, a message stating that you intend to stay." Frieza then left his office to use his private restroom.  
  
Balair had roared at Jaden in his agony, "You don't deserve to be in Top Elite, Jaden, and I will destroy you the first chance that I get!" Dodoria had gone to him to peel him off of the wall.  
  
Jaden smiled cruelly at Balair and Dodoria and said silkily, "Let that serve as a lesson to you, Bali. If you and Dodo here don't leave me alone permanently, you both will suffer the same fate as Sagash. Is that clear? You both better leave me alone, if you value your lives. I am here to stay, whether I or anyone else likes it or not."  
  
And Jaden had walked out of Frieza's office that day, feeling as if she had won part of her soul back. She had stood up to Sagash and Balair and Dodoria, and she was still alive to tell about it, plus she had a cushy position with the powerful Lord Frieza.  
  
She had laughed triumphantly afterwards for hours…  
  
  
Present Time  
  
"My heavens," Chestra murmured.  
  
"And that was how I got into Top Elite," Jaden told her calmly. "And that is the main reason that Bali and Dodo hate my guts, but that's alright, the feeling's mutual. I could care less what that pair of leather-lipped gorillas think of me."  
  
"I knew that Dodoria was no saint, but I didn't think he would participate in something so heinous. I am truly sorry, Commander Jaden, for what you have endured with those two. Sagash received what he richly deserved. I had to kill off a few of my would-be rapists myself."  
  
Jaden nodded. "Thanks, kid, it's not everyday that I find someone to agree with what I did. The bad thing was, I cried afterwards, not because Sagash was dead, but because I was so shocked at what I had done to protect myself. I was in shock and tears for days, but afterwards I felt better about it. I stood up to that bastard finally and fought back and won. I'm sorry, but I don't regret killing him. I'm only sorry that I'm not sorry."  
  
"I wouldn't be sorry either, if I were you. Sagash isn't worth anything but contempt and hatred. I am glad that I never met the man."  
  
"Believe me, Chestra, he was one man that you were better off not knowing. I wasn't his only victim, even though he claimed that he wanted me for his mate. Sistrai and Egimarians are each a nasty bunch."  
  
"That I agree with," Chestra agreed vociferously. "I haven't met a Sistrai or Egimarian yet who had proven that statement wrong. Commander Jaden, I hate to cut things short, but I must go to bed now and get some rest."  
  
"You can go, if you want. And you don't have to address me as Commander when it's just the two of us. You can simply call me, Jaden then, kid. Good night."  
  
They both left that lounge, each feeling as if they had met a kindred spirit.  



	9. Chapter Nine: Trouble From Diamonique

A/N: Thank you, thank you, everyone for the reviews so far! I really do appreciate them! Sorry, it's been a while since I updated. Enjoy!   
  
  
Chapter Nine: Trouble From Diamonique   
  
Two months later on Frieza's mother ship…   
  
Zarbon and Dodoria had taken the assignment for planet Nassau, a planet containing a race of people that had been giving Frieza as much grief as the Astorians of planet Astoria normally did. The Nassai, the race of planet Nassau, were a humanoid race almost as powerful as the Saiyans and the Astorians, and Frieza had learned from his spy on Astoria, Reccor the Arlian, that Shalila Chloe was planning to convince planet Nassau to ally with planet Astoria against Frieza.   
Frieza hoped that the three Saiyan boys that he had sent to clear Astoria, Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz, would be able to conquer the planet and take a little Astorian princess captive, to be inducted into his forces. The little Astorian princess was a small girl named Tayla Chloe, whom Frieza heard possessed great power and intelligence. He hoped to make the small princess work for him and possibly become one of his Elite fighters. It would be a perfect revenge against Shalila Chloe, the ruler of Astoria, the murderer of his mother, Queen Frost.   
  
Frieza fervently hoped that by the end of the year, both Astoria and Nassau would be eliminated as threats to his reign of terror and strong empire.   
  
Zarbon had asked permission from Frieza for him and Dodoria to take Chestra and Diamonique with them to Nassau. "It would be a good training exercise for them of them, sire," Zarbon had told him.   
  
Frieza had been thoughtful. "Very well, if you insist, Zarbon. Just make sure they come back alive, hmm? The Nassai are a powerful species."   
  
"Of course, sire. I will see personally that nothing happens to them."   
  
  
  
Chestra was sitting at the table in the Recruits' Lounge And Bar, dreaming of Zarbon and his handsome face. She had just barely managed to concentrate fully on her training, and Zarbon had said that she was doing well. Zarbon seemed to like her, but Chestra could not yet determine if he liked her as a woman or not. No man had ever stirred such emotions in her before, until a man had come along with lovely green skin, soft, well-cared-for hair, and a face that was handsome, even with its feminine features.   
  
For Chestra had to agree with Jaden that Zarbon was a bit dandyish and effeminate and a little too concerned with his appearance for a man. Chestra had heard some of the subordinate officers refer to Zarbon as a "pretty boy" because he was vain at times, but she thought that his nobler qualities more than made up for it. He was a sharp dresser and well groomed and clean-something that Chestra had not always found in the males that had tried to accost her in the past. She loved the scent of his musky cologne, which always signaled his presence whenever he entered a room, but she relished the smell of his natural scent even more, a special scent that she had accidentally noticed just before Zarbon had gone to take one of his tri-daily showers.   
She smiled sweetly; she had never felt so young and girlish like this before. Her adoptive Ghettian father, King Muro, had always told Chestra to "find heaven within any hell", an obscure Ghettian proverb meaning to look for the silver lining in any cloud. Her smile faded, as she grew solemn, remembering the last day of her Ghettian family's life. That old Ghettian bromide had been the last words to her from King Muro, when the old Ghettian monarch had died in his adoptive daughter's arms…   
  
"Chestra, I am sorry that I could not protect you as I hoped I could. Never thought we could be defeated…never thought we could lose…always thought that we could win…those bastards…sorry, daughter…don't worry about us anymore…"   
  
"But Papai! (Ghettian word for 'father)"   
  
"Daughtay, (Ghettian word for 'daughter'), worry about yourself now. You are a survivor, dear one, and remember that you can find heaven within any hell, the good among any evil, the perfection in any imperfection."   
  
"I am afraid, Papai!"   
  
"I know you are, dear one, but you are strong. Don't give up; find the heaven within your hell, and you will always be all right…"   
  
…"Oh, Papai," Chestra whispered. "I miss you and Mamai to this day. Why did those awful invaders take you from me? You two were the only real parents that I ever had, among the few people who ever really cared about me…"   
  
A few crystalline tears escaped from her panther-like jade eyes before she could stop them. She suddenly felt very sad and lonely; it was terrible and terrifying knowing how much could change in six years. When she had been twelve, she had been preparing for her upcoming marriage to dear Haven, a funny, amusing boy who had made her laugh, was fun to be with, but had stirred no romantic or sexual passion within her. Maybe she had just been too young for that, she would never know now.   
  
"Why the tears, Chesty? It can't be that bad, you know," a honey-icy voice purred silkily.   
Chestra sighed, as the owner of that cloyingly sweet voice slid into the green-checkered and oak-like booth besides her. "Hello, Diamonique."   
  
Diamonique was wearing the usual Recruit armor, plain, with gray shoulder, chest, thigh, and body flanks, but she was still breathtaking. Her icy-blue hair was pinned back elegantly in a style similar to a French twist, and her peaches-and-ice skin glowed luminously in the dim lights of the restaurant. Her black diamond eyes were rimmed with dark blue kohl, and her usually pale blue lips were painted a shadowy shade of silver that glimmered in the low lighting. Her high cheekbones were tinted with lavender blush, and her crystal blue teeth glittered brightly. Her Recruit armor could not hide her sultry, seductive curves, although it restrained her small, perky, perfect, pointed, conical breasts. Her diamond nails were long and sharp and filed to flawless curves.   
  
Chestra unwittingly compared herself to her colleague. Her hair was divided evenly into two halves, one ruby-red, the other emerald-green, and that soft, luxurious hair had been twisted into a plain bun. She wore no makeup, and while her figure was lovely and graceful, it was not as curvy as Diamonique's was. Her breasts were even smaller than Diamonique's. Diamonique was tall (something that Chestra greatly envied, although she would never admit to it under slow torture), making her figure more sleek and elegant than short little Chestra's petite body.   
Diamonique smiled, a cold, condescending smile, as she looked down on Chestra from her superior height. Diamonique had no doubts as to which the prettier of them were.   
  
Chestra, however, tried to be friendly. "So, I hear that we are going on an assignment together with our trainers, Zarbon and Dodoria."   
  
Diamonique laughed merrily, that icy, scratchy laugh that reminded one of nails raking on a chalkboard. Her horrible laugh had not deterred any man away from her, however, for Diamonique had had many lovers since she had been fourteen, and she knew how to seduce any man, young or old, of almost any compatible species. She took very few of her lovers seriously, and she loved to play the field, never staying with any one man for too long. Her main target now was Zarbon, for he was handsome, a man of great position and power. Diamonique had decided that it was time for her to take a mate, and Head Commander Zarbon would be that mate. He would be hers, for she planned on seducing him while they were clearing planet Nassau. No man yet had ever turned her down.   
  
"Yes, Chesty, darling-"   
  
"That's Chestra, not Chesty. I don't like being nicknamed."   
  
"Oh, excuse me, Chestra, I am so bad with names, my dear. Anyway, I am looking forward to clearing our first planet, especially now since Head Commander Zarbon is taking us. Zarbon and I have become close, very close, within the past few weeks. We almost kissed a few nights ago, and he seems very interested in getting to know me better, or so he has told me. The way he holds a woman, the way that he licks his lips…ah; it gives me wonderful dreams at night. I spend as much time with him as I can, and I wish that I could train under him, well, no, I don't, for if I was training under him, then we wouldn't be able to feed our blossoming romance. He'd be forced to keep his hands off of me then, something that he has had a very hard time doing lately. I can tell, from the slow, sexy way he looks at me that he wants me, very badly, like a man on a desert planet wants water. I intend to satisfy his thirst while we are on planet Nassau; he will surely be mine after that planet is conquered and cleared. Ah, I wish everyone was as lucky as I am with men…what about you, darling, how is your love life going? I've heard that Commander Balair has a personal yen for you, or he did until you beat him without touching him. However, there is still Captain Ginyu, an ugly, posing fool, but nevertheless an important man. So, indulge me, hmm?"   
  
Chestra replied curtly, "I am not interested in either Commander Balair or Captain Ginyu, and no, Diamonique, there is no one at this time."   
  
Diamonique sighed, "Poor little Chestra, having such man problems. I wouldn't be feeling so happy either, if Commander Balair or Captain Ginyu were pursuing me, such reprobates as they are. Too bad, you can't be with Zarbon, but ah, there's that little clause saying that recruits can't be romantically or sexually involved with their trainers, oh well. I don't have that problem at least, but I doubt that you and Zarbon would make a great couple anyway."   
Chestra became hot then. Who did this ice duchess think she was? She said tightly, "And exactly why would you say that, Diamonique?"   
  
Diamonique laughed again, with that screeching, scraping laugh that made anyone's blood run cold. Chestra shivered instinctively, as Diamonique replied in her usual sugary tone, "Zarbon is from a fine race, my dear, and esteemed race and good family. A man such as him would want a woman of breeding, of position, of class, a high class, someone from an established race and family, a strong race and family. He has had many lovers, my dear, if the stories about him are true, and he will surely want an experienced woman, one such as me. He's not going to want some little slave virgin who doesn't even know who or what she is descended from. You don't even know what race you are, do you, darling? Why would someone like Zarbon want to take his chances breeding or mating with a strange virgin of undetermined race or heritage? How do you know that you wouldn't give him weakling children, or children who would turn out to be deadly monsters?"   
  
"Better think of genetics, breeding, and common sense, my dear. In other words, Chestra, darling, if I were you, I wouldn't bother. After all, it's not like you can satisfy any urges that you have for him at the moment anyway. By the time, assuming that you pass your Final Evaluation, Zarbon will be eating out of my hand, so it will be too late then for you to pursue him. Well, it's time for me to pack for our trip, so farewell, darling." And with a satisfied smile, Diamonique arose, leaving a seething Chestra glaring darkly at her. She strutted out of the Recruits' Lounge And Bar, walking slowly and seductively, so that all the men in the bar could admire her as she passed, and they did. All the men couldn't help staring at the icy beauty, as she left.   
  
Chestra clenched her fists; that little snow queen really had grated on her nerves. She was hurt and angry, and she wished that she had said something to that cold, hard witch! She should have slapped that whore, scratched her face, telekinetically threw Diamonique across the room, anything but just sit there and take her insults. She had been able to stand up to Balair when he tried to force himself on her, but she had just sat there and let that Diamonique insult her. Jaden wouldn't have been too impressed with her at that moment; Chestra felt ashamed of herself for not telling Diamonique off.   
  
Diamonique! That slut! Chestra had to fight hard to keep the tears from coming; it had been a long time since she had left Egimari that she had been that humiliated! For a few minutes, self-doubt crept in, for Diamonique did have a point; she, Chestra, did not even know what race or family she was descended from, and should someone like her even try to pursue a man like Zarbon? Chestra slammed one small white fist onto the unpolished tabletop in fury! Curses, the one time in her life that she actually wanted to return a man's affection, and some blue-and-silver-haired wench decided to tell her that she wasn't good enough for this man!   
  
Chestra hissed between her teeth, as she dug her small, shorn nails into her soft white palms! No, she was not going to let that witch win this one! Zarbon would probably pick Diamonique in the end, but Chestra then and there decided that she would make it harder for Diamonique to get him. Chestra realized then how much she truly wanted Zarbon, and she was determined to have him, even if she couldn't act on her affections towards him until after she passed her Final Evaluation. Never had a man stirred such caring and love, and yet passion and desire at the same time.   
  
She didn't have Diamonique's seductive looks or great body, but she could still show the Gemstarian woman a thing or two-and she intended to.   
  
She would find a way to make Zarbon notice her for more than just his recruit. Even though they wouldn't be able to act on their feelings until after she passed her Final, they could still get to know each other better. She'd give Diamonique a run for her money.   
  
Chestra smiled mischievously. Zarbon, here I come, she thought happily. She left the lounge, dreaming of Zarbon's muscular limbs, chest, chiseled features and strong body…   
  
***********************************************************************************************   
A/N Me-ow, or rather Me-ouch! Diamonique sure is catty--and determined to have Zarbon for herself. Chestra decides in the next chapter or two to give Diamonique a little competition, but she is unaware yet of the depths that Diamonique will go to to get rid of her. Chestra is also unaware that not only does Diamonique intend to endanger her chances with Zarbon, but her life as well. Watch out, Chestra! Good luck!   
  
R&R pretty please! =) I can't know if anyone is still reading this, if no one's telling me! What do you think? Let me know! 


	10. Chapter Ten: Diamonique Learns A Lesson ...

Chapter Ten: Diamonique Learns A Lesson In Manners  
  
A month later…  
  
Nassau was a jungle planet, with over seventy-five percent of the globe covered in rainforest. The Nassai possessed spaceships, but while the spaceships were reliable, they were not as advanced or as well equipped as the spaceships from places such as Astoria, Vegeta, Calmag, or those of Frieza's forces. Their technology, what little they possessed, was only about fifty years old, with their first spaceship having been built only thirty years ago. The Nassai were a humanoid race of unusually tall people (no adults among them were shorter than seven feet) with dark blue skin, yellow hair, and black eyes.   
  
Luckily for them, their technology was advanced enough that they had an satellite alarm system (which was antiquated compared to the satellite alarm systems of Astoria, Vegeta, Calmag and other higher evolved planets), and this system, which involved a manned satellite housing four technicians, two warriors, one doctor, and two pilots, alerted the Nassai government of the impending invasion from Frieza's minions. The Nassai were a strong people; they had telepathic abilities, shape-changing abilities, and weather-controlling abilities. They could make it snow or rain anytime that they wanted to, and their powerful weather-manipulating capabilities had deterred would-be invaders in the past. Many an invading army from another planet had been obliterated either through instant floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, or hailstorms before they had a chance to destroy the Nassai. The Nassai had used these incredible powers with their minds, in a process similar to Chestra's telekinesis.  
  
The Nassai would have been able to destroy the four invaders from Frieza as easily as they had been able to do to other enemies, but a terrible worldwide viral plague had crippled half of the Nassai people, killing them within days of infection. The virus, called Rodin-ky (Bringer of Death in the Nassai language), was highly contagious (it was spread through contact with any object an infected victim touched or through someone's cough or sneeze), and it would halt the weather-controlling and shape-shifting abilities of any Nassai affected with the malady. The virus would also change the normal blue skin color of a Nassai to a sickly pale yellowish-green, and the virus would also quickly wither away the bone marrow and bones of its victim until the bones and marrow were turned into dust. In the final stages of the Rodin-Ky disease, the victim would have no bones left, and he or she would be a quivering blob of flesh and blood. There was no cure or treatment for Rodin-Ky, and anyone who had the extremely contagious and infectious disease was shipped immediately off to a disease colony country called Magin-Say (Land of The Doomed in Nassai language) to die horribly. No victims were ever allowed to leave Magin-Say again.  
  
The Nassai government, knowing that they did not have enough soldiers to battle Frieza's Elite fighters, evacuated the healthy people left on the planet. All those with the infected Rodin-Ky illness were left behind to die. Some of the desperate victims, hoping that there would be a cure for Rodin-Ky on another planet (they did not know at that time that Astoria had an easy remedy for their illness), had tried to steal away on the fleeing ships, but the Nassai soldiers shot and killed them with antiquated laser guns. In fact, for the safety of the healthy escapees, the uninfected Nassai mercilessly killed many Rodin-Ky victims before they fled Nassau.  
  
By the time, Zarbon, Dodoria, Diamonique, and Chestra had landed on Nassau in their separate space pods, all of the healthy Nassai had been evacuated off of planet Nassau. The four invaders themselves had been giving immunizations to protect themselves against Rodin-Ky when they each had joined Frieza's forces, so they had no worries about catching the illness. Zarbon and Dodoria were disappointed, for they had been looking forward to a good fight. A bored Dodoria blasted away many of the infected Rodin-Ky victims with his mouth blasts. Diamonique turned most of them into diamond statues by shooting them with ki blasts from her slender hands, and Zarbon fired ki blasts at the underground shelters where most of the frightened Rodin-Ky victims had fled to escape their doom. (Healthy Nassai have the ability to sense ki, but those infected with Rodin-Ky did not, for the virus crippled that capability.) Chestra used her telekinetic powers to send the mountains and trees on Nassau crashing down on the helpless disease-ridden victims, killing most of them instantly, since many of them had lost all of their bones to Rodin-Ky.  
  
Within two days of their arrival, nearly all of the inhabitants left on Nassau had been destroyed. A pleased, although slightly disappointed Zarbon, had contacted Frieza to assure him the mission had been a complete success. Dodoria, bored as usual, was busy hunting down the few people left on Nassau to burn them away with his mouth blasts. Since there were not many people left to kill, Zarbon had sent Diamonique and Chestra out to explore the small planet and take notes of anything that Frieza or potential buyers might find useful, such as rare woods, rocks, animals, foods, or plants.   
  
Now Diamonique and Chestra were on the other side of planet Nassau, and they were both tired, so Diamonique suggested that they take a nap. Chestra agreed, and the two young women found beds in a deserted hut near a stream. The cots were covered with comfortable, soft, red, giant velvety oval leaves that the Nassai had once used for mattresses and blankets. Chestra snuggled down wearily underneath two of the scarlet velvet leaves, trying not to think about the horrible way that the remaining Nassai people had died. She finally managed to shrug it off, for she recognized the symptoms of Rodin-Ky among the citizens, and she knew that they would have died sooner or later anyway. She and the others had given the citizens a quick death, which was surely preferable to them dying by the illness.  
  
She was sleeping peacefully for someone who had just taken numerous lives, when she suddenly had a dream that a shadowy, perfumed creature was hovering over her. The creature was tall, shaped like a woman, with long, deadly claws. The strange woman sunk two of those deadly claws into Chestra's soft, white flesh, leaving two bloody marks on a slender, well-shaped pale shoulder. The woman-creature laughed maliciously in Chestra's dream, with a horrible sugary, sandpapery, scraping laugh that grated on Chestra's nerves, even in her sleep. The dark being whispered into Chestra's catlike ear, "Sweet dreams, only this is one dream that you will never wake up from, my dear. Farewell."  
  
And then Chestra fell deeper into sleep, a dreamless slumber that rendered her nearly unconscious…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The next morning…  
  
Zarbon was bathing in a nearby river, washing his hair several times with the special shampoo that he had Dr. Katsen, head of Frieza's Medical Division, make especially for his hair. The sunlight glinted off of his sleek, slick, lean muscular pale green chest and arms. His emerald hair was soft and wet, and it encased his shoulders like his cape often did.   
  
Diamonique watched him bathe, as she approached him, smiling and scantily clothed. Diamonique had brought along an extra outfit, a skimpy, skintight outfit resembling a silver bikini set that consisted of a string top and a bikini bottom. The silvery top and bottom were metallic, with tiny specks of turquoise flashing throughout the outfit, and the bottom was so low-cut that a first inch of the crack of her buttocks was showing seductively. The bikini top was low-cut as well; it was practically a demi-bra, with her large, dark nipples nearly poking out of the top.  
  
She cooed softly, "Hello, Zarbon!"  
  
Zarbon looked at up at the barely covered Diamonique, startled.  
"Diamonique!" he gasped. "Shouldn't you put some clothes on? And where's Chestra? You two girls were supposed to stay together!"  
Diamonique sighed wearily, "Chestra decided to find Dodoria, so we parted ways, and she insisted that I come back where I would be safer. Anyway, she can take care of herself; she's a big girl. And so I am for that matter." She then curled her silvery-blue lips into a seductive smile, as she reached behind her back and began to untie her bikini top. She let it slide down her slender, peach-blue body to the silver sand that she was standing on. Zarbon nearly cried out when she began to wiggle her medium-sized, pert, conical breasts with the dark blue nipples the size of American quarters. She swayed slowly, as if to some to unheard music, as she began to leisurely slide her bikini bottom down her legs, while she was still smiling wickedly at her prey. She had been wearing a silver clip that had been holding up her hair, but lately, she had been allowing her hair to grow out, and it was past shoulder length, so she unclipped her hair. The hair fell loose, soft aqua hair, streaked with silver, which glittered in the Nassau sun. Diamonique grinned wider, as she tousled her lovely hair playfully, watching Zarbon's reaction.  
  
Zarbon stared at her, his mouth agape, as she entered the cool, clear water of Nassai with a confident air. She then swam slowly over to her crush, hoping that she had won him over. Before Zarbon knew it, Diamonique was in front of him, her cool, peach-blue body pressed against him, her hips gluing themselves to his loins. She slid her slim, graceful arms around his neck, purring softly, as she brought her lips to his for a kiss.  
  
"Diamonique…" Zarbon groaned.  
  
Diamonique whispered breathlessly, "Don't talk, just kiss me and say that I'm yours."  
  
Zarbon drew his head back, and Diamonique's lips were within millimeters of his. Zarbon's breath came in heaving gasps, as Diamonique brought her feminine hand to his green hair.   
  
She was about to kiss him when suddenly she fell backwards into the water! "AHHH!" she screamed in horror, as her body sank under the cold water. She tried to get back up, but her body seemed to be pinned by an unseen force. Diamonique struggled vainly against the invisible restraints, but it was no use. She was only up enough to keep from drowning. She continued to fight against the unseen forces holding her down, as she cried out to Zarbon, "Help me, please!"  
  
"Give me your hand!" Zarbon ordered her, holding out a well-muscled hand. Diamonique tried to reach for it, but she wound up unintentionally slapping herself in her perfect face. Helpless, to stop her hand, she continued to unwittingly slap herself hard repeatedly across her face.  
  
"Diamonique!" Zarbon cried out. "Are you alright? Have you gone crazy?"  
  
Diamonique tried to respond, but then her body levitated rapidly into the air, and the unseen force threw her beautiful form back into the water hard, facedown. Diamonique struggled to her face out of the water, but that was all she was able to do, for the unseen force was pinning her down once again.  
  
"Help me! Help me, please!" she cried in terror.  
  
Zarbon waded through the waters to reach her, but before he could make it to her, a slimy, gray toad, covered in warts floated towards her. Diamonique hated toads of any kind, of any planet, and she screamed in horror as the toad unwittingly flowed in the air towards her lips. Before Diamonique could prevent it, the toad's face crashed into her lips several times, forcing her to kiss the vile amphibian. Then the toad fell into the water, and Diamonique's body was levitated into the air again, and powerlessly, she unwittingly did somersaults and back flips in the air until her body once again fell into the water hard.  
  
Finally, after several seconds, a nude Diamonique was in complete control of her body again, and crying in horror, she ran out of the water, and into the jungle. She ignored Zarbon's cries, as she continued to flee farther and farther away.  
  
When she had disappeared, a few minutes later, Chestra emerged from the shadows of the trees, and she gasped in surprise to catch Zarbon nude. "Oh, you must pardon me, Zarbon, I did not realize that you were bathing! You must forgive me for disturbing you!"  
  
Zarbon managed a smile. "It's no problem, my dear, no problem at all."  
  
"I heard poor Diamonique screaming," Chestra said calmly, and Zarbon swore that he saw her grin to herself for just a second. "What was she so riled up about?"  
  
Zarbon sighed, "It seemed that a ghost or an unseen force had taken over her body temporarily. It made her did the oddest things, such as slap herself repeatedly and kiss a toad."  
  
"Poor girl," Chestra cooed with just the right amount of sympathy in her tone.  
  
Zarbon quickly ducked back into the water, blushing magenta, when he realized that Chestra had seen his entire body in the buff. Still blushing, he said quickly, "Chestra, I think that we need to leave these woods tomorrow. They seem to have some strange form of apparitions…would you happen to know anything about them?"  
  
Chestra cast Zarbon her most innocent look. "Why would I? I have never been on this planet before until now." She schooled her catlike features into the most innocuous saintly look that she could manage.   
  
Zarbon looked at her skeptically, but then he smiled slyly at her. He wasn't considered to be one of Frieza's most intelligent Elite officers for nothing; he knew exactly what the unseen force was-a certain mischievous young recruit with ruby and emerald hair and large, teardrop-shaped jade eyes.  
  
"Chestra," he said, trying to put a stern note in his amused voice, "did you happen to use your telekinetic powers on Diamonique just a few minutes ago?"  
  
Chestra kept her angelic expression, but she could not hide the roguish grin that invaded the virtuous façade that she was trying to portray. Zarbon sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," she said as solemnly as possible, for she was trying not to laugh at the thought of Diamonique being forced to kiss that toad. Finally she couldn't help herself, and she burst out laughing so hard that the tears rolled down her face.   
  
Zarbon couldn't help but smile when she had started to laugh; her laughter was like the sound of tinkling golden wind chimes to him. It was the first time that he could ever remember hearing her laugh. He chuckled before he could stop himself.  
  
Chestra toned down her laughter, and she put on her most grave smile. "Am I to be written up for that, Commander?" she asked lightly.  
  
Zarbon smiled a bit wickedly, for he had no interest in Diamonique, and he was glad that Chestra had intervened when she did. Zarbon had admired Diamonique's looks and body at one time or another, but he thought that she was too much of a spoiled, immature brat for him. He finally answered Chestra:  
  
"Hmmm…should I write you up? Well, attacking another recruit without cause is technically a write-up violation, but in this case, since it was your first offense, I can let you off with a verbal warning not to do it any more-not today anyway," Zarbon told her sternly, but with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"Yes, Commander, I will behave myself after this, I promise," Chestra vowed, but Zarbon just laughed. He knew better; as long as Chestra did not permanent damage or cause death to Diamonique without reason, he wouldn't bother disciplining her for it.  
  
"You are forgiven, VR," Zarbon told her playfully. "But you will also cook dinner tonight as your penance. If I have to eat one more burned or undercooked meal cooked by Dodoria or Diamonique, I will go on a fast."   
  
"Whatever you say, Commander," Chestra responded.  
  
  
  
  
  
That night…  
  
All four of Frieza's soldiers were sleeping in their makeshift tents, with Zarbon and Dodoria in one tent, and Chestra and Diamonique in another, sleeping in battery-operated sleeping bags that could have their temperatures adjusted to suit the comfort of their occupants. Diamonique had gone to bed early, extremely embarrassed and angry. Chestra felt no sympathy for her, and Dodoria and Zarbon had not paid Diamonique any mind.  
  
Diamonique awoke suddenly, with Chestra's soft, white hand enveloping her throat and choking the air out of her windpipe and Chestra's angry cat face staring down into hers. Chestra had managed to keep calm and lighthearted throughout the rest of the day, but now she had some business to discuss with her fellow recruit.  
  
"Listen to me, you blue-haired, blue-skinned whore!" Chestra hissed angrily in Diamonique's face. "If Zarbon were to choose you over me, which I seriously doubt he would do at this point, I would not contest you for him. However, I believe that I have just as good as a chance as you do, if not better, for him."  
  
"But Diamonique, if you ever, and I mean, ever, try to kill me again; I will return it to you fivefold! Jaden warned me about your nails, and I have two claw marks on my shoulder to prove that you tried to poison me with your deadly talons! Leave me alone, and I mean it! It would be far safer for you not to bother me again; do you understand, you perfidious little tramp! Leave me be!"  
  
Diamonique wheezed; she could barely talk with Chestra's hand around her throat. "No one can survive my deadly claws, no one, unless they are Astorian, Saiyan, or Rybanese! How did you survive my poison? How?"  
  
"I don't know," Chestra told her honestly. "To tell you the truth, I thought that I was done for; I thought that I was going to die. So if you wanted to give me a good scare today, you did accomplish that goal, at least until I realized that your poisonous nails had no effect on me. Jaden has told me that the symptoms would have shown up immediately, my skin would have bloated and turned blue with purple blotches and boils, and my eyes would have bulged and exploded. But I had none of those, so I assume that I will live. However, if you try to take my life again, I cannot assume the same for you."  
  
"Are you going to report me?" Diamonique demanded to know.  
  
Chestra scoffed. "Why? I am still alive, and I am a big girl, capable of taking care of myself. Besides, it is a nice threat to hang over your head as blackmail should you try to threaten my life or make my existence miserable." She then whispered in Diamonique's elfin ear, "Goodnight, Diamonique, and may your dreams be as pleasant as mine were today." She then released Diamonique's throat, left her archrival and crawled back into her own sleeping bag. 


	11. Chapter Eleven: Chestra's Mid-Evaluation

Chapter Eleven: Chestra's Mid-Evaluation  
  
Three months later…  
  
"And how goes the wooing of Zarbon?" Jaden asked Chestra with her mouth full. Jaden did not have the best table manners, but hers could have been as bad as Dodoria's or Balair's, so Chestra paid them no mind.  
  
She and Jaden were sitting in the Recreation Lounge, with Chestra eating a small banana fruitcake and ham and cheese sandwich, and Jaden eating her fifth box of chocolate and cherry ice cream that they had bought from the snack bar. Chestra, thankful to be on Zarbon's account, was about to reply when suddenly they both heard a musical instrument similar to a trumpet echo throughout the Lounge.  
  
"Attention, everyone, please!" Guido announced loudly, as his chubby, toad-like body came tumbling into the doorway of the Recreation Lounge. "I would like to present the greatest champion and lover of all times: Captain Ginyu!" The other members of the Ginyu Force followed behind him.  
  
Jaden spat out her ice cream. "What the hell?"  
  
"What is Ginyu up to now?" Chestra wanted to know. Ever since she and the others had returned from their successful mission on planet Nassau, Ginyu had been trying to woo her, with everything from midnight serenades at her and Diamonique's doorstep (which caused him to be written up by Zarbon, not only because he was serenading the woman that Zarbon wanted, but because Ginyu was a tone-deaf singer), to sending her corny, childish love poems with pathetic lines such as, "I want to paint you red, douse you with scent, and call you my rose!"  
  
As for Balair, he had made no more outward attempts to win Chestra over, but Jaden warned Chestra that didn't mean that Balair had given up on her. Jaden told her that either Balair had moved on to other conquests, or he was planning a new way to seduce her, or worst of all, he was planning his revenge on her. Chestra kept an eye out for Balair; she was not worried about Ginyu, for she knew that the body-changing captain was harmless enough-at least to her, but Balair was a true threat.  
  
At that moment, the aforementioned Captain Ginyu came pirouetting into the Recreation Lounge, twirling on one toe and grinning. He was an excellent dancer and choreographer, if a terrible poet. And now he decided to use one of his notorious love poems on Chestra once more:  
  
"Chestra, little tweet, you are so sweet!  
You literally swept me off of my feet!  
Your hair is like grass and fire!  
You stir up my heart with desire!  
You're a girl of real class  
With nice boobs and a cute little as-I mean behind-"  
  
"Captain, that doesn't rhyme," Baata protested.  
  
"Quiet, Baata, she might not like it, if I cussed. Anyway, back to my love poem. Chestra, you are so zesty/ why if I took the 'R' and the 'A' off your name and put a 'Y' on the end, I could call you Chesty-"  
  
"Ginyu, have you been sniffing Lord Frieza's whiteout again?" Jaden interrupted. "You know that Dr. Katsen warned you about that the last time that you passed out from it."  
  
Ginyu looked at Jaden and blushed guiltily. Jeice leaned over and whispered to Jaden,   
"Don't worry, he didn't sniff it until after he wrote that poem."  
"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?" Jaden asked sarcastically.  
  
Ginyu grunted, "May I continue please?"  
  
Everyone sighed. Chestra shrugged. "May as well," she told him wearily. She'd be glad when Ginyu and his pals went off to planet Ruu in a week to clear it; maybe she'd get a little peace.  
  
  
Ginyu added:  
  
"And to conclude, my vessel of lovely attitude,  
As much as I hate to be rude,  
I wish that I could be with you night and day,  
But alas, good Lord Frieza must have his way.  
He is sending me far to planet Ruu,  
But I'll still be dreaming of you.  
I'll still want you all the time, my sweet dab of cream  
It will be your sweet boobs and butt, which will make me dream.  
So farewell for now, my sugar-sweet flower,   
And dream of me, a man with real power."  
  
And with a satisfied grin and an elaborate spread-eagle pose, Ginyu finally finished his poem, much to everyone's eternal relief.  
  
"So," he said to Chestra, looking at her. "What do you think of that poem?"  
  
Chestra flushed uncomfortably. "It was…original…in fact, I have never heard anything like it. No one writes poetry like you, Captain," she hedged. She sighed with relief when she saw Ginyu's grinning face; she had managed to tell the truth and spare his feelings at the same time.  
  
"It sucked," snapped a rough baritone voice from the doorway. Everyone turned around to see Balair standing in the doorway.  
  
"Chestra liked it," Ginyu told his archrival for Chestra's affections spitefully. He then flashed Balair a happy pout.  
  
Balair grinned slyly. "So Miss Chestra likes poetry, eh? Well, I bet that the poem that I'm about to recite to her far outdoes yours."  
  
The others heavily moaned, for Balair's lyrics were usually twice as bad as Ginyu's. Suddenly, everyone had an excuse as to why they had to leave.  
  
"Umm…I need to go potty now," Reccoom said quickly.  
  
"And I have two dates scheduled for this evening, in fact one of them I'm supposed to meet at this very moment. See you all later!" Jeice jumped to his feet.  
  
"It's time for my third lunch," Guido choked out.  
  
"I'd love to hear it, Bali, but I need to work out a new pose that I thought up for my men," Ginyu stammered.  
  
"And I promised him that I would help," Baata added swiftly.  
  
"Love to stay, Bali, but I need to go get hit by a meteor shower," Jaden quipped.  
  
"And I need to go prevent her from doing so," Chestra added nervously.  
  
Balair grinned evilly. "Nice try, everyone. No one leaves until I get my poem recited. Ginyu got to say his, so I get to say mine. It's only fair."  
  
"What would be fair is for us not to have heard Ginyu's either, and one poem is more than enough to suffer through," Jaden told him.  
  
"I have to go potty," Reccoom moaned again.  
  
"I'm hungry, Bali, can't this wait?" Guido wanted to know.  
  
Balair decided to start now before anyone tried to flee or come up with another nickel-butt excuse. He blurted out:  
  
"Chestra, my woman, you make me drool!  
Over my body, I'll let you have complete rule!  
I want to kiss your boobs and stroke your butt,   
And you have to admit that I have gut-"  
  
"Oh, you have gut, alright," Jaden interrupted, "Been having a few two many Crystal Blues and chili fry plates lately, haven't you, Bali?"  
  
Balair growled at her, "Jaden, you better not be implying that I'm getting fat!"  
  
"Well, you did have to get your uniform and armor resized to a larger fit, last week," Jaden pointed out with a knowing smirk.   
  
Balair debated between continuing with his poem and killing Jaden on the spot. Finally his desire for Chestra overrode his urge to obliterate his Rybanese archenemy with a ki blast, so he continued, deciding to skip to the last verse:  
  
"And if you agree to be my woman,  
And please me in bed tonight,  
You'll find it to your eternal salvation,  
That I go easy on you during your Mid-Evaluation."  
  
Chestra's sea-green eyes widened, and she gasped aloud, "You-you, Commander Balair, are giving me my Mid-Evaluation?"  
  
"Wait a minute!" Jaden shouted. "I was the one assigned to give her the Mid-Evaluation, not you!"  
  
"Well, that was true," Balair purred. "But I convinced Lord Frieza that you were getting so chummy with our little Chestra here, that you might not be able to be impartial and objective with her. So he assigned it to me. Of course, Zarbon can't do it 'cause he's the one, along with Dodoria, who will be giving the Final, and Ginyu couldn't give a donut a warrior examination, let alone a recruit, so it's up to yours truly."  
  
"You bastard!" Jaden roared.  
  
Chestra hissed, "That's alright, Balair, I will still pass."  
  
Balair slurred, with a wicked grin, "Not if I go all out with you, you won't. Keep that in mind, Chestra, love. I'm really not a bad lover; you'll like what I have in store for you after the Mid-Evaluation. See you in five hours, sweetness; I'm looking forward to this." Balair strutted out of the Lounge like a proud Earth rooster.  
  
Chestra tossed her red and green head haughtily. "I defeated him once; I can defeat him again."  
  
Jaden sighed wearily, "Chestra, I have to be honest with you, kid. You did beat Balair into the ground the last time, but that was because you caught him off guard; he didn't know at the time about your power of telekinesis. Now he's more aware of your powers, so he'll be on his best guard, and I know that you know that Sistrai warriors can vaporize and liquefy themselves. Balair won't show mercy on you."  
  
"That's alright," Chestra told her as bravely as possible. "I won't show mercy on him either."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A recruit, voluntary or involuntary, has three to four evaluations. The first is a Recruit Evaluation, in which a recruit considered a potential for the Elite is trained by his or her trainer, almost always a Top Elite officer. Any Lower or Mid Elite officer available at the time trains recruits considered potentials for only low-level positions. If a recruit passes his or her Recruit Evaluation, he or she trains until it is time for Mid-Evaluation. If a recruit fails Recruit Evaluation, there are two options for him or her: to retake the examination, if it is permitted, or be sentenced to death, if he or she did too badly. During a Recruit Evaluation, the only things that a recruit must do to pass, is to fight well and stay alive for twenty minutes with his or her trainer, plus take both a written and an oral examination beforehand. He or she didn't have to win necessarily, nor was he or she expected to.  
  
The Mid-Evaluation was not much harder than a Recruit Evaluation, except that the recruit would fight another Top Elite officer other than the one that trained him or her. The time would go up to thirty minutes, and if the recruit lasted for the thirty minutes without being killed by the Top Elite officer training him or her, he or she would pass Mid Evaluation, provided that the oral and written tests were passable. If a recruit passed all fighting examinations, but failed the oral or written exams, he or she would automatically get another chance. But if a recruit failed the fighting part and passed only the oral and written exams, it would be up to the trainer and Frieza to determine if the recruit deserved another chance.  
  
During Final Evaluation, Dodoria and Zarbon, or any other two Top Elite officers would fight the recruit, each for thirty minutes separately, and then during another thirty minutes, they both would take on the recruit. (Frieza had changed the rules shortly after Chestra had arrived, extending the Final Evaluation fighting test from sixty minutes to ninety minutes.) If a recruit failed Final Evaluation, he or she would automatically be sentenced to death unless four Top Elite Officers or Frieza himself decided that the recruit would get another chance. This last option happened very rarely, because it was nearly impossible for four Top Elite Officers to agree on anything quickly, and Frieza was not known for giving second chances often.  
  
Now Chestra was sitting at a worn, metal desk, as the examiner, an android, a highly evolved robot named Calculus, recited questions at her. Calculus was six-feet tall, with a gold head, steel torso and copper limbs, and he held all and any information about Frieza and his forces' doings in his computer brain. Chestra was relieved that it was Calculus giving the test, and not Balair.  
  
The questions ranged from basic knowledge about things such as math and Standard language to "ethics" questions such as:  
  
"Would you be willing to kill you best friend, if Lord Frieza asked you to?"  
  
Chestra wanted to say no, but Jaden had told her in advance to give any answers that she knew that Frieza would want to hear, so she answered, "Yes."  
  
"If Frieza asked you to kill your parents, would you do so?"  
  
"Yes," Chestra answered automatically. She didn't like these so-called ethics questions, but she knew that she had to give the test givers what they wanted to hear.  
  
"If Frieza asked you to kill your mate, would you do so?"  
  
Chestra was extremely hesitant, and after thirty seconds, Calculus asked again, "If Frieza asked you to kill your mate, would you do so?"  
  
Chestra took a deep breath and said wearily, "Yes."  
  
"Very good, Chestra, Voluntary Recruit 117899765. Now for your test in the Standard language. It is Lord Frieza's orders that everyone speak Standard and Standard only. Could you be happy never speaking your native language again?"  
  
"Yes." Chestra knew bits and pieces of several other languages, but Standard was the one that she was most familiar with. It was not a hard requirement for her.  
  
Calculus continued asking her questions about proper grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, and Chestra recited the answers to him, as if she were a robot herself.  
  
Finally, after both oral and written examinations, Calculus told her brightly, "Congratulations, Chestra, Voluntary Recruit 117899765, you passed your oral and written examinations. Now it is time for your Warrior Examination, the final test of Mid Evaluation. Good luck."  
  
Chestra breathed a sigh of relief, and she mentally prepared herself for her fight with Balair  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The Evaluation room held a stone ring, similar to the ones used in the Tenkaichi Budoukai on planet Earth. Chestra was doing warm-up exercises on the edge of the ring, when a cloud of red dust floated above the ring. She knew immediately that this was Balair in his vaporized form.   
  
The cloud of Balair landed gracefully in front of her, and it transformed into the solid form of the merciless Sistrai warrior. Balair drew himself up to his full height of eight feet, and he stared down at Chestra triumphantly. He winked at her and whispered to her thickly, "You know I can go easy on you, if you agree to be my woman. Final offer before we begin."  
  
"Refused," Chestra told him evenly. "I will have to take my chances with you."  
  
Balair snorted. "Have it your way then. Don't say I didn't warn you."  
  
Frieza, Zarbon, Dodoria, Jaden, and the entire Ginyu Force were watching them at this moment, along with Hickey, one of Frieza's assistants and Evaluation judges. Hickey resembled a tiny two feet, five inches pale blue mouse with gigantic square yellow ears each three times larger than his head, but he had a voice that could be heard from halfway across a small planet, no matter how softly he spoke. Hickey had no physical strength, except for what was in his voice, so Frieza mainly used him as an emcee at the rare special events and parties that Frieza would throw for his soldiers, as well as an Evaluation judge and tournament referee.  
  
"Welcome to your Mid-Evaluation, VR Chestra!" Hickey boomed, even though he was actually speaking softly, that is compared to any other member of his race. "I will review the rules with you for passing the final stage of your Mid-Evaluation. Rule Number One is that if you fall out of the ring three times, you fail, or if you fall to the ground and cannot get up after before I count to ten, you fail. And of course, if you die, which we all hope that you won't, but knowing Commander Balair's style of fighting-" Hickey stopped his sentence after Balair shot him a look that could kill Hickey's entire race. "Umm…well, anyway, if you die, of course, you fail."   
  
"Rule Number Two is that if you leave or escape before the thirty minutes are up, you fail. Rule Number Three is that you may use any natural fighting technique that you possess to pass your Mid-Evaluation, whether it is shape shifting, transforming, clawing, telepathy or whatever. Rule Number Four however strictly forbids any weapons of any kind to be used, unless they are a part of your body structure. Rule Number Five forbids anyone else helping you in any way, whether it be verbally or physically; verbally includes shouting out tips and advice. Rule Number Six forbids you to be drunk or on drugs during your Evaluation, but since you tested negative for both tests, VR Chestra, that shouldn't be a problem."  
  
"And finally, Rule Number Seven says other than these restrictions, it's no holds barred. Unlike Recruit Evaluation, you are permitted to kill your opponent, if possible, and if you do, you will automatically be inducted into Lord Frieza's forces as a full-fledged member, along with your opponent's position as a Top Elite officer. So in other words, VR, if you kill Commander Balair, and you pass everything else, you automatically gain his Top Elite position. Good luck, VR. Let the Evaluation begin!"  
  
Balair, in his solid form, flung himself at Chestra, who swiftly dodged him. Chestra somersaulted several times across the ring of the floor in order to escape her Sistrai opponent. She then decided that it would be wisest to pass this Evaluation as quickly as possible to prevent too serious injuries. She opened her tiny hands and shot black lasers into Balair's head, in the same way as she had done with the dragon that she had fought on planet Egimari. She had finally come up with a name for this attack, which her foster father, King Muro, had taught her. He had had no name for it, but Chestra had thought of one before her Mid-Evaluation, and she had recently dubbed this attack as Tenfold Pain Blast.  
  
She then shot one of her green mouth blasts at Balair's stomach, but Balair quickly vaporized the lower half of his body, and the laser flew through the cloud of red mist harmlessly. Chestra silently cursed, as Balair solidified himself again and raced towards her.   
She then tried to focus her mind on controlling Balair's body, but Balair, remembering that blank, concentrated look of hers from the last time she had defeated him, was wise enough to vaporize himself entirely. Chestra focused her mind on restraining Balair, but her power of telekinesis only permitted her to move solid objects, not objects made out of air or vapor. She could do nothing to control the burgundy haze of her Sistrai opponent, and Balair was able to move about easily in his mist form. Before Chestra knew it, the maroon fog known as Balair enveloped her body and solidified itself back into its natural form. Balair was now holding her in his arms under her arms, and with a sharp shove, he threw her to the ground hard facedown. Chestra, anticipating the unavoidable fall, turned off all of her nerves before she crash-landed onto the stone floor of the ring.  
  
She swiftly leapt to her feet, and she shot more mouth lasers at Balair, who continued to vaporize himself every time that a laser would come at him. Finally, Chestra realized that she would have to fight him physically, and then she remembered something that Jaden had told her shortly before the Evaluation day. Chestra then remembered Jaden telling her one of the main reasons that she had defeated Balair, and it wasn't just because she threw him off guard with her mind powers.  
  
Keeping Jaden's secret advice in mind, Chestra flipped across the ring several times towards Balair, and she landed a swift kick in his gut while he was solid. It was a good kick, and Balair screamed loudly because of the increased pain, but it was not enough to damage him like she had hoped. Balair started to vaporize himself again, but before he could finish, Chestra's fist crashed into his jaw. The Sistrai fighter cried out in pain again, but it did not cripple him. By all the Kais, why couldn't she kick or hit him hard enough?  
  
Balair responded by slamming his fist into the side of Chestra's head hard, causing her to fall over backwards before she could prevent herself from doing so. Balair then quickly dashed behind her and liquefied himself just as she was falling towards him. She slipped on the crimson ooze that was now Balair, and she fell to the floor, hitting her head harder than Balair had done. She suddenly felt very dizzy, and the room started spinning; her brains felt as if they had been stuffed in a pickle jar and shook up. Chestra felt weak suddenly, and she was not certain that she could rise up again. Two excruciatingly slow minutes passed.  
  
"One…" Hickey began.  
  
"Chestra, get up!" Jaden screamed.  
  
"Two…" Hickey continued.  
  
"Chestra, please get up!" Zarbon cried out in worry.  
  
"C'mon, Chestra!" Ginyu shrieked.  
  
"Three…"  
  
Balair had solidified himself again, and when he was back in his natural form, Jaden shouted at him, "You dirty cheat! That wasn't fair!"  
  
"Yeah, Balair!" Jeice screamed. "You just did that 'cause Chestra wouldn't agree to sleep with you!"  
  
"Mean ol' Balair!" Reccoom cried.  
  
Balair yelled back at them, "There are no rules that don't say a Top Elite evaluator can't liquefy himself, so stay out of it!"  
  
"Four…"  
  
Ginyu said to Frieza anxiously, "Sire…"  
  
"He's right," Frieza told him and the others coolly. "It is no holds barred for a Top Elite evaluator."  
  
"But sire…" Jeice protested.  
  
"Five…"  
  
"Shut up!" Reccoom shouted at Hickey.  
  
"He has to follow the rules, Rec," Jaden told him grimly, "whether we like it or not."  
  
"Six…"  
  
Chestra lay on the ground, barely moving, and too dazed to think.  
  
"Seven…"  
  
"Chestra, don't give up now!" Zarbon cried.  
  
"Chestra, get your scrawny butt off of the floor before I obliterate you myself!" Jaden cried, hoping that her harsh threat would stir her new friend back to her senses. She ignored the dirty looks of the others.  
  
"Eight…"  
  
Chestra knew that she was not as physically strong as the Top Elite officers, or even Diamonique, but it had not mattered too much, for her mind powers and her ki attacks had been more than enough to even up the difference. Her telekinetic abilities made her equally as strong as many of Frieza's Elite fighters, but her brute strength paled in comparison to theirs. What could she do to even up the brute strength difference between her and Balair?  
  
King Muro of Ghetti had always told her that it took more than brute strength to win a fight, and he had also told her that using her head would be more useful to her in life than using her fists. When he had first told her that, a much younger Chestra had thought that he had meant her telekinetic powers, but she later realized that her foster father had meant her wits and wisdom.  
  
She now knew what she had to do.  
  
"Nine…"  
  
Chestra's upper body began to escalate; little by little, she managed to pull herself up.  
  
"And she's up! She's still in!" Hickey bellowed.  
  
"Yay!!!!" everyone cried happily.  
  
"I knew that you had it in you, kid!" Jaden shouted. "And forget that last sentence that I said earlier; it was merely to incite you!"  
  
"That's it, Chestra," Zarbon encouraged.  
  
Ginyu hollered, "Kick Balair's bloody red Sistrai as-"  
  
"Mind your language, Ginyu, please," Frieza admonished him.  
  
"Vaporize him permanently!" Jeice screamed.  
  
With the advice of both Jaden and King Muro in mind, Chestra slowly began to rise to her feet, and she levitated into the air ten feet away from Balair. She then twirled lightly, dancing towards him and flashed him her most seductive smile, as she landed right in front of him.  
  
"Balair," she whispered in a velvety purr, "can you ever forgive me?"  
  
"For what?" Balair growled, with his hands on his hips.  
  
"For not realizing the prize that I would be getting in you. I shouldn't have resisted you the first time that you tried to make your intentions clear towards me, but I was startled. It wasn't until today that I realized what a studly, handsome, and very strong man that I would have. Is that offer of yours still open?"  
  
Balair smiled wickedly, for when it came to flattery from a beautiful woman, he was not too perceptive or nitpicky as long as it was positive. He slithered over to Chestra and said slyly, "Anytime, sweetness, anytime. I'll let you land a few more punches on me, then in about ten minutes, your Evaluation should be over. I can't wait to jump your bones, baby girl; you're going to love what's coming."  
  
"And you're going to love what I have in store for you," Chestra cooed. "Now close your eyes, and I'll give you something sweet to remember me by before we resume our match."  
  
"Sure thing, sweetness," Balair murmured, as he stupidly closed his eyes so hard, that he was squinting. "Is this something sweet a kiss perhaps?"  
  
"Oh, it's definitely something that your mouth will remember alright," Chestra sang happily, amused by Balair's sudden pouting of his lips.  
  
Before her Sistrai suitor knew what hit him, Chestra landed two hard punches at once, one on his lips and another on his midsection. Before Balair could react, Chestra's fist crashed into his ribs, and her foot landed on his toe. Balair screamed harshly, for Chestra's attacks hurt ten times more than what they normally would have. He tried to grab her, but Chestra's tiny foot came smashing down on his, and to her pleasure, she could hear and feel bones cracking. Balair snarled in both pain and fury, and then he tried to vaporize himself, but to his horror, he couldn't.  
  
Chestra had broken his bones!  
  
"You slut! Now look what you've done!" Balair screamed. "I can't vaporize!"  
  
"I know," Chestra told him triumphantly. "I found out recently that if your bones are broken or cracked, you are unable to vaporize or liquefy yourself until the bones mend themselves again. Now it's time to finish this match once and for all." She would be eternally thankful to Jaden for telling that nice little fact about Sistrai biology and anatomy.  
  
And with that, before Balair could stop her, Chestra concentrated her mind, and with her telekinetic powers, she gained control of Balair's body. Balair rose into the air against his will, and he crashed into the ceiling. Chestra swung him around in the air with her mind power, as Balair slowly grew dizzy. She then used her mind to send him falling to the ring, where he collided with the rigid floor of the ring-right onto his head.  
  
But Chestra wasn't done yet. Balair continued to struggle against her mind powers, but as before, he was helpless to prevent her, as she brought him into the air again. She threw him against the north wall several times with her mind, each time causing him to be harmed worse than before. Balair screamed in horror for the pain that came each time was still ten times more than what it would have normally been. For the grand finale, Chestra stood still, calmly, as she brought him into the air again with her telekinetic capabilities, and then she once again threw him to the floor of the ring hard, with Balair's head directly hitting the tiles of the ring. Balair shrieked in pure terror, for he thought that Chestra truly meant to kill him this time. Luckily for him, he was literally hardheaded, so he was mercifully knocked unconscious the last time that he hit the floor.  
  
And then to Chestra's eternal relief, a loud buzzer sounded from the distance, and Hickey shouted triumphantly, "You have passed the final stage of your Mid-Evaluation, VR Chestra! Congratulations! You have passed your Mid-Evaluation! You have also passed your oral and written tests, so you won! Well done!"  
  
Everyone clapped and whistled loudly, and Frieza smiled at Chestra, as he floated into the ring towards her and said quietly, "Well done, VR Chestra, very well done. I have never seen a trainee give it back to Commander Balair that well. You have proven yourself this day, my dear." He took her small, delicate hand in his and shook it gently, but firmly.   
  
Chestra shook it back, knowing that it was not every day that Lord Frieza honored a recruit like this. She smiled back and whispered, "Thank you, Sire." She then tried to slide her hand back out of her liege's hand, but to her surprise, Frieza held onto it for much longer than he should have. Chestra felt his thumb caress the inside of her palm tenderly, as his eyes lowered into a sleepy gaze. He looked at her intently, as a slow, provocative smile spread across his porcelain face. For the first time in a while, her heart froze in fear, for she recognized that look on Frieza's face, a look that she had seen many times on many men in her life.  
  
It was a look of lust, of desire. Chestra bit her lip to keep herself from shrieking, for the way Frieza was looking at her now made her cringe. Frieza's seductive look reminded her unpleasantly of some of her previous masters, particularly the worst ones such as that Sistrai bastard general and Egron. Chestra's ivory skin grew even whiter, if that was possible. She said hastily to Frieza:  
  
"Sire, would you please excuse me, for I am very tired, and I really need a shower. May I please go?"  
  
Frieza chuckled softly, but he didn't release her hand right away. He pulled her to him and whispered, "What is wrong, my dear; you look terrified, as if I am going to eat you. I would never do that, my dear, except for a little nibble here and then."  
  
Chestra abruptly yanked her hand out of his, forgetting about manners and propriety. She just wanted to flee, for she suddenly felt very, very ill. "I must go, sire, I really must, I am sorry!" And without looking back, she dashed out of the Evaluation room, with Jaden watching her worriedly.  
  
Zarbon had witnessed the entire scene between his liege and his potential love, and he was furious-at Frieza for disturbing Chestra so and at himself for not intervening. He had not heard the words exchanged between them, but he had a fairly good idea of what had happened; it was obvious that Frieza now wanted Chestra for himself-and Chestra didn't like that idea at all.  
He clenched his fists while Frieza's back was turned, and he was fuming. Frieza had made it clear before that his only interest in the young female recruit had been as a fighter, nothing more. Now Frieza had joined the ranks of Chestra's admirers? What was he, Zarbon, going to do? He didn't have a chance against Frieza, should Frieza decide to claim the girl for himself, but he couldn't, no wouldn't, allow that deadly tyrant to force Chestra to become his mistress. Chestra deserved much better than Frieza; Zarbon respected and honored his lord, but he knew that Frieza was not a good man, and he would not make Chestra happy.  
  
He had to prevent his liege from touching her, but how?  
  
He gulped; he would have to talk to Jaden, for he was certain that Jaden would be the only one who would be brave (and rash) enough to help him keep Chestra out of Frieza's hands, and possibly Balair's as well.  
  
Zarbon straightened himself up; he had so much on his hands now to keep the woman that he wanted safe. He knew that he could not have her himself until after she passed her Final Evaluation, but he would not allow any other man to have what was meant to be his. He was certain that Chestra would want him more than anyone else, and he was determined to make her his, Frieza or no Frieza, Balair or no Balair. Zarbon was secretly pleased that Chestra had taught the Sistrai warrior a brutal lesson twice. Maybe Balair would be deterred away from her permanently.  
  
If it were only that simple with Frieza. Oh, sweet Kami, he hoped that he could protect the feisty red-and-green haired recruit from his lord's slimy clutches!  
  
  
A/N: We all should have known that Frieza would get in on the act, or maybe we shouldn't have. Anyway, Chestra and Zarbon now have a new worry, and who can stop Frieza from getting what he wants, or in this case, who he wants? And if that wasn't bad enough, in the next chapter, someone else (yes, Chestra gains yet another admirer, to her eternal dismay), someone that not even Frieza himself suspects, wants her as well. Zarbon has enough trouble with Ginyu and Balair wanting the woman of his dreams, and now there's Frieza, and this new guy. Who is he? And how and when Frieza will openly pursue Chestra? Will anyone be able to stop him? Remember everyone, he is the most deadly tyrant in the universe. But then Chestra is hardheaded, and Zarbon can be too. So stay tuned for um...what was this fic called again? Oh, yes, "Chestra" of course! ;) 


	12. Chapter Twelve: Like Father, Like Son

Chapter Twelve: Like Father, Like Son   
  
Frieza's office, two days later…  
  
Frieza was idly doodling on his expensive, personalized notepaper, making small childish pictures of Chestra. He had wanted the little recruit for some time now, ever since she had returned from planet Nassau with Zarbon, Dodoria, and Diamonique. The four soldiers had encountered a nasty meteor shower on the way back to Frieza's mother ship, and they had barely survived it. A meteor had crashed into Chestra's space pod, damaging it severely, and Zarbon had used a laser-tracking beam from his own space pod to capture Chestra's pod and bring it safely to Frieza's mother ship. Chestra had to be taken immediately to the Medical Wing of the ship because her ribs and a couple of internal organs of hers had been severely damaged.  
  
On the day of their return, Frieza had taken a personal trip to the regeneration tank room to have his monthly checkup with Dr. Katsen. When he had arrived, and before he had entered, he saw Dr. Katsen assisting a scantily clothed Chestra out of the healing tank that she had been recuperating in. Chestra had only been wearing a tan-colored bodysuit that had covered her, but had allowed the regeneration fluid to enter her body as well. The bodysuit had fit perfectly on her, and it displayed what curves she had nicely.   
  
Chestra had used her body ki to dry herself off quickly, and then she had started to brush her hair to make it fluffy and soft again. Frieza had stood there in the doorway, without anyone's knowledge, as he watched the young recruit brush her hair repeatedly. For some strange reason, it had been an arousing sight to him to watch VR Chestra brush her hair, to see that plain wooden brush glide smoothly down shiny tresses of ruby and emerald that glistened in the bright lights of the regeneration tank room. Frieza had longed to touch Chestra's hair then, to slide his long white fingers through the silken crimson and dark olive strands that framed a cute, kittenish, snowy feline face adorned with a tiny panther-like nose and large, teardrop shaped mint-green eyes. He had suddenly felt an urge to nibble on the round catlike ears on the top of her head that poked through the scarlet and green locks of hair, and he had also wanted to sink his teeth into the lovely, well-sculpted pale shoulders that he was sure were soft and smooth just by looking at them.   
  
He wanted the little slave girl that he had bought to use as a fighter right then and there. He made up his mind on the spot to have her; why hadn't he noticed more on how beautiful and exquisite she was? She was perfect; she would make the perfect woman for him, so sweet, so spirited, so untouched by any male, and so ready for him to have.  
  
He had even forced Dr. Katsen to admit that Frieza was mating-compatible with the tiny red-and-green haired recruit. Possibly reproductively compatible, as well, a frightened Dr. Katsen had reluctantly confessed to his lord. Those facts pleased Frieza tremendously, and he had ordered Dr. Katsen to run DNA and fertility tests on Chestra to determine whether Chestra would be able to bear him children. Dr. Katsen hadn't been happy about it (and he had secretly pitied the hapless young girl whom Frieza would force to become his concubine or mate or whatever Frieza wanted her to be), but he had done what Frieza requested (as if the good doctor really had any choice to do otherwise).  
  
Frieza was dreaming of all of things he could teach his potential conquest, when a message on his scouter echoed to him:  
  
"Lord Frieza, are you there?"  
  
"Yes, Dodoria, what is it?"  
  
"Your father, King Cold, has arrived, sire. Should I send him to your office?"  
  
Frieza sighed; it was just like his father to interrupt a pleasant dream. "Yes, Dodoria, send him immediately."  
  
"Yes, sire. Signing off." And Dodoria's voice disappeared.  
  
Within ten minutes, a majestic King Cold entered his son's office without the required (and mandatory) courtesy of knocking first. King Cold's head and horns grazed the ceiling of Frieza's elaborately decorated office, which was adorned with wood paneled walls, gold crown molding, a thick gold, glittering carpet, a fawn-colored leather office chair and a desk made out of "whilver", a rare white wood, streaked with silver that came from planet Cara-Camay. Frieza plastered a smile on his face for his father.  
  
"Yes, Father, and what brings you to my humble mother ship?" Frieza asked smoothly.  
  
King Cold scoffed, "Humble? Ha, not with the gold carpet and whilver desk. By the way, I myself am having a new summer home built on planet Ice built out of whilver. But that is not the main reason that I came to your office right away; I have noticed a lovely young woman, a voluntary recruit with sumptuous red and green hair, a woman who resembled a white panther. Who is that vision of loveliness that works for you, son?"  
  
Frieza mentally counted to ten before answering, "Why do you wish to know, Father?"  
  
King Cold smiled slyly. "I am getting a bit bored with the women that I have now, except for my sweet Caldair. And Caldair, my third wife, is having her time of month, so she can't…hmm…pleasure me as much as I would like at the moment. I need some new blood, someone fresh and new until I can mate with my lovely Caldair again."  
  
"Father," Frieza said scathingly, "you have over fifty concubines, not to mention three wives to please you. What do you need with a new one? Can't you find a suitable woman among them? Even a man with your sexual appetite, Father, can find satisfaction within your own harem."  
  
"Perhaps," King Cold replied in agreement. "But I want that catlike recruit of yours with the red and green hair, son, so now who is she?"  
  
"The young woman with red and green hair, if you must know, happens to be named Chestra, and you can't have her, Father. She's already been claimed."  
  
"By whom, may I ask, son?"  
  
Frieza smirked. "Myself. I plan to make her my new mate."  
  
King Cold smiled. "Ah, I see, son. And what makes you think that the girl named Chestra would want you? A sweet young thing like her would want a more experienced, more…knowledgeable man to satisfy her youthful appetites."  
  
Frieza snapped, "And what makes you think that she would want you to satisfy her when she could have someone like me? She's mine, Father; I've claimed her first. You can easily find another woman to pleasure you until your precious Caldair is available again."  
  
"If I want her, I will have her, son," King Cold told him evenly. "You have the Ginyu Girls to pleasure you; I just want one young woman from you."  
  
"Forget it, Father," Frieza growled. "She's mine."  
  
A knock tapped on Frieza's office door just then. "Who is it?" Frieza demanded to know.  
  
"Eclipse, sire. You wanted to see me today, remember?"  
  
Frieza smiled slowly, and then he slapped his forehead. Curses, he forgot that he had set up an appointment with Eclipse, the captain of the Ginyu Girls, the group of beautiful and talented young women that served as cheerleaders and groupies for the Ginyu Force, as well as voluntary courtesans for the Elite males.   
  
Eclipse, a lovely a young humanoid woman who was half-Calmagian and half-Gemstarian, was the Squad Leader of the Ginyu Girls. Eclipse was Diamonique's first cousin who was five-feet, six inches tall and had long, soft turquoise hair and eyes and the same peaches-and-ice skin as her cousin. She had the Calmagian pointed elfin ears and the deadly blue diamond nails of the Gemstarians, although she never had used them on anyone. She was nineteen years old, and she and Diamonique had both lost their parents a year ago to a deadly plague that had wiped out many members of the elite Diamondian tribe to whom they both belonged. In a rare moment of pity and tribal loyalty, Diamonique had managed to obtain a job for Eclipse on the Ginyu Girls, and within six months of that time, Eclipse was elected as the Ginyu Girl Squad leader. She was one of Frieza's favorite Ginyu Girls, even though she wasn't mating-compatible with him. Eclipse would sing to him, recite poetry to him (she was an excellent singer and lyricist), massage him, kiss him, and do various other tasks that a man liked a woman to do with him. The seductive, fun-loving Eclipse was popular with all of the Elite males, particularly with Frieza, Ginyu, and the Saiyan, Nappa.  
  
Frieza pressed a red button set into his whilver desk, and the silver door rose, allowing Eclipse to enter his office. Frieza smiled benevolently at her and said sadly, "Eclipse, I know that this is going to sound strange, but I'm afraid that I will have to cancel my appointment for today."  
  
King Cold smiled at Eclipse, admiring her curves. He said smoothly to the Ginyu Girl squad leader, "He's become a bit infatuated with another woman, I'm afraid, my dear, the same woman that I happen to want for myself." Frieza glowered at his father, but King Cold ignored him.  
"No problem," Eclipse said with a sweet smile, feeling no jealousy at the news of Frieza's unnamed amour. "And who is the lucky girl, Lord Frieza?"  
  
Frieza chuckled lightly. "Perhaps, you have met her, Eclipse. Her name is Chestra."  
Eclipse squeaked, "Chestra! Why, yes, I've met her yesterday when I went to congratulate her for passing Mid-Evaluation and giving Commander Balair what he deserved; Commander Balair is such a jerk! Anyway, she's such a nice girl for one of your fighters, sire. She's a pretty girl, sweet and strong! I am surprised that you are interested in her though, Lord Frieza, for it was my impression yesterday that she was interested in Head Commander Zarbon! At least that's what Chestra was telling Commander Jaden."  
  
Frieza and King Cold both cried out, "Zarbon?"  
  
Frieza hissed, "Why would she be interested in a pretty boy like him? The man can't go through a day without taking three showers or seeing that his clothes are neatly pressed." Frieza usually had no problems with his right-hand man and head commander, but the news that Chestra liked him was too much!  
  
"He is very immaculate, sire," Eclipse said serenely, after catching her breath. "And very handsome too! And I was noticing the way that he was watching Chestra too, as a man would look at a woman that he wanted! I caught him alone a few hours ago and just went out and asked him if he was interested in Chestra, and he said that yes, he was, but he couldn't even date her until she passed her Final Evaluation. Oh, isn't that sad, Lord Frieza? I wish an exception could be made for the two of them; they would make such a good couple, don't you think?"  
  
Eclipse covered her mouth in horror, as soon as that last sentence popped out of her mouth. She just now remembered that Frieza wanted Chestra for himself, and so did King Cold. "Oh, Lord Frieza and King Cold, please forgive me, I forgot that you two wanted her as well. Sweet Kami, whatever will you three men do? Unless Chestra is willing to have three beaus, only one can have her!"  
  
Frieza took a deep breath and said as calmly to Eclipse as possible, "Eclipse, leave us immediately; my father and I wish to be alone."  
  
"We do, son?" King Cold asked, puzzled and disappointed that Frieza had to send such a lovely young woman away.  
  
"Yes, Father, we do," Frieza said edgily.  
  
Eclipse graciously and wisely left, not saying a word, but only waving goodbye to Frieza and King Cold. When the sliding door closed down behind her, Frieza growled, "So Zarbon thinks that he can have her, eh? She's mine; I've laid claim to her first! How dare he try to take what should be mine!"  
  
"Who does that pretty boy commander of yours think he is?" King Cold snapped. "We are superior to him! Now we will have to figure out what to do about the green-haired, green-skinned dandy!"  
  
"I'll just obliterate him, simple," Frieza said evenly.  
  
"Wait a minute, son," King Cold said, calming down. "We can't be absolutely sure that Zarbon is interested in Chestra; we should at least ask him before we give him what he deserves."  
  
"Eclipse has never lied to me, Father," Frieza said tightly. "I get much information about the other Elite males out of her; the Ginyu Girls are an excellent source of gossip and information, for all the Elite males open up to them freely. I will summon Zarbon immediately; I have the right to know what his intentions are for his recruit. He can't touch her until after her Final Evaluation, so we do have a little time. If he does try anything on her before then, I will decimate him utterly! No one touches what is mine!"  
  
"Wait a minute, son," King Cold said irritably. "Aren't you forgetting that I want her as well? I can trade you one of my concubines for her, if you wish."  
  
"I want Chestra, Father! I want her because she is untouched, a virgin, and because she's young and beautiful and fresh. You can easily buy yourself another concubine off the intergalactic slave market; I don't ask you for much, Father! All I want is one little recruit for my woman!"  
  
"And to rule the universe and become immortal," King Cold quipped.  
  
"That too. But Chestra will be mine."  
  
"We'll see about that, son," King Cold told him coolly.  
  
"Is that a challenge I smell, Father?"  
  
King Cold chuckled. "Possibly, son. Hmm…perhaps you and I can have a battle royale in a few days for her? No killing allowed, just winner taking all, say in three days from now?"  
  
"Fine with me, Father," Frieza agreed smoothly. "Chestra will see which one of us is truly superior, truly worthy of her."  
  
"So be it then. See you in three days, son," King Cold responded, as he headed to the door and pressed the button that would open it. He left quickly, and when he was out of earshot, Frieza pressed a button on his scouter and pressed a numerical code on his scouter that would connect directly to Chestra's scouter. He had decided that he would beat his father and Zarbon to Chestra before they even had a chance.  
  
"VR Chestra, are you there?" Frieza asked sweetly.  
  
"Y-yes, s-sire," Chestra's voice responded nervously. Frieza could hear the fear in her voice, and he smiled. He knew that Chestra had been uneasy around him since the day she had passed her Mid-Evaluation, but that was all right; he'd quickly ease her fears of him. A little humility and meekness was good in a future mate, anyway.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Come to my office, immediately, VR Chestra. I have a personal matter that I would like to discuss with you."  
  
Chestra was alone in the room that she shared with Diamonique, and she trembled. There was nothing that she could do, but answer Frieza's summons; she had no choice, for to refuse without an extremely good reason would mean risking death. She gulped, took a deep breath, as she left for Frieza's office.  
  
She was shaky and pale by the time she was standing at Frieza's door. She realized too late that she should have alerted Jaden or Zarbon as to where she had been going. It wouldn't have done any good anyway, for Frieza's mother ship was currently hovering outside of planet Vegeta, where both Jaden and Zarbon were paying a visit to King Vegeta and Queen Muriella, the parents of Prince Vegeta, the heir to the Saiyan throne.  
  
The door rose into the air, and a tense Chestra slowly entered the office of the imposing Lord Frieza. Lord Frieza was floating in his private personal pod, and he sailed towards her and stepped out of his pod. He was a good foot and a half taller than she was, but it seemed like it was ten feet taller to Chestra. Frieza smiled slowly at her, as he walked confidently towards her.  
  
Chestra pulled herself up to her full height of four feet and seven inches and said as steadily as possible, "What did you want me for, sire?"  
  
Frieza chuckled, as he gracefully reached towards the ruby side of Chestra's luxurious long hair. He ran his fingers through it, caressing it gently; her hair was as soft and silky as he thought it would be. He leaned closer towards her, and Chestra abruptly pulled away.  
  
"Sire, what are you doing?" she asked, her voice raised an extra octave.  
  
"Haven't you guessed, my dear?" Frieza asked in a purring tone. "I like you, VR Chestra, and I think that we should get to know each other better. I have admired you and wanted you for the past month, and while I understand that there are other men interested in pursuing you, I rank above all of them. You would have a happy life with me, my dear, I can assure you. I am a very satisfactory lover; at least that is what my previous lovers have told me. I can pleasure you like no other man could."  
  
"Lord Frieza, this is going entirely too fast for me!" Chestra exclaimed, no longer able to keep calm. She hadn't felt this frightened since Egron of Egimari had touched her, and she had not been able to use her telekinetic abilities to prevent him from molesting her. Chestra briefly wondered if she would be able to restrain Frieza telekinetically; she might have to try it. For now, she tried to tone down her voice and say edgily, "Sire, I am not interested in you as a lover. 'No' is my answer. Allow me to leave at once."  
  
Frieza said wickedly, "I'm afraid that won't be happening, my dear. I can be very gentle when the woman that I want is willing. And it is not like that I am the one who is training you, so there are no rules saying that we can't be mates. I have heard rumors that you interested in Zarbon, but he is a dandy, a fop. You need a real man, my dear, a man is more powerful and experienced, a man who can give you wealth, security and power. Think of what a life as my mate would be like, Chestra, dear; it would a life of stability and happiness, especially if you gave me a strong male heir to rule in my stead after I pass on. It is time that I settle down anyway, and you will be the one that I settle down with. Now come to your future mate, my love." He leapt at her, but Chestra moved away from him again.  
  
"Forget it!" Chestra cried, her fear hardening into fury. "I said no, Lord Frieza, and that's what I mean! You told me long before that you wanted me as a fighter, nothing more. And I will choose my own mate, which will not be you! I have had more than enough of masters or overlords thinking that I am theirs just for the asking! Most of you don't even ask, you just grab! You will have to forget this infatuation that you have with me, sire, and choose someone else, for I am not interested in you that way."   
  
She turned away from him to leave, to flee, but before she could do so, Frieza zipped in front of her with the speed of lightening, and he swiftly wrapped his tail around her. Chestra tried to use her mind powers to force his ribbed tail away from her body, but it did not budge, as it tightened around her body. She then tried to levitate Frieza with her telekinetic abilities, but Frieza did not move. She was horrified to find somebody who was resistant to her telekinesis, and then she shrieked when Frieza dragged her closer to him with his tail. His long, scaly tail (Frieza was in his first form) restrained her arms, so that she could not move them. She struggled against the tail, but it was no avail; no amount of struggling or mind powers would move him. (Chestra would learn later on that Frieza was also an expert in telekinesis, and unlike her, he knew how to resist someone else using their telekinetic powers on him, so that they could not affect him.)  
  
Frieza grinned, as he dragged Chestra right to his chest. He thrust his right hand into the emerald side of her hair and pushed her head towards him, as she struggled in vain. Frieza pressed his tiny purple lips to her short, but well-shaped neck, nuzzling it and kissing it. He nibbled on her collarbone, relishing the taste of her sweet snowy flesh. He nuzzled the hollow of her throat, nipping at it and kissing it repeatedly. Chestra continued to writhe and thrash about, as she tried to escape him, but Frieza's grip was too tight. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, and his right hand shoved her ruby and emerald blanketed head to his face. Before she could stop him, he kissed her firmly on her lips, deep and hard, slipping his lizard-like tongue inside her mouth. Chestra coughed and gasped, as she tried to yank her head away, but that only resulted in Frieza holding tighter onto her hair and head. He pressed his loins against her hips, and before she knew it, Frieza had her pinned to the wall.  
  
Chestra bit into his tongue, but it had no effect on him at all; instead he shoved her further against the wall and crushed himself against her. Chestra felt a few strange drops of salty water sliding down her pale cheeks, and she realized that she was-crying?   
  
She had not cried since the day that her Ghettian adoptive family had been brutally murdered. A few sobs escaped from her slender throat before she could prevent them, as her tears continued to cascade down her face. Frieza briefly retrieved his tongue from her mouth, just long enough to slowly lick her tears away. He chuckled softly and whispered, "Don't cry, my dear, you should be enjoying this. You can even pretend that I'm Zarbon, if it will make you feel better, just make sure not to call me by his name."  
  
"Let me go!" Chestra cried.  
  
"Not until I'm done claiming you, my dear," Frieza said silkily. "You'll enjoy what's coming, I promise you." Within seconds of that, he managed to telekinetically remove her armor, and before Chestra could stop him, Frieza had removed her armor and clothes from her body with his mind, leaving her only in a slip and pair of panties. Frieza was only wearing the top part of his armor to begin with, and with his mind, he swiftly tore the pants that he had been wearing off.  
  
And after that, he pressed his lips to hers once more, as he pushed her to the floor, wrapping his tail tighter around her, as he secured her to the floor with his body. He removed his left arm from her body, and instead began to caress her scantily covered body, freely running his hand over her breasts and buttocks. Chestra continued to squirm and struggle, but it was in vain; Frieza had her right where he wanted her.  
  
How could she have been so stupid, so foolish? She should have just refused to come to him; what was the worst he could have done? Kill her? That would be preferable to what Frieza was about to do to her now.   
  
She began to cry harder, for Frieza was about to take her virginity, something that Chestra had wanted to give to Zarbon instead…. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Zarbon and Jaden To Th...

Chapter Thirteen: Zarbon and Jaden To The Rescue  
  
And at the same time that Chestra was struggling with Frieza…  
  
Frieza was unaware that Jaden and Zarbon had left planet Vegeta much earlier than he had expected them to. Jaden and Zarbon visited King Vegeta and his wife mainly to find out if Prince Vegeta and his cohorts, Nappa and Raditz had finished clearing planet Astoria and capturing little Princess Tayla. King Vegeta had snapped sharply at both of them and said that his son would clear their precious Astoria soon enough, and the sooner he did it, the better. Planet Astoria had been a thorn in King Vegeta's side for many decades, and the Astorians were the Saiyans' main enemies and a true threat to them because the Astorians were equally as powerful as the Saiyans. Many decades ago, the Saiyans had conquered the planet Astoria and forced her inhabitants to become slaves to them. The Saiyans had ruled Astoria for over twenty years until the heir to the Astorian throne, Shalila Chloe, a young princess, had returned to home planet from planet Earth, accompanied by a powerful Namek warrior named Dirkan. With the help of Dirkan, Bajal Chloe (Shalila's then-fiancé, now deceased husband), and Kami Orchida, Astoria's current deity, Shalila Chloe had defeated the Saiyans and took her home planet back from them. She and her husband and Dirkan had forced all pureblooded Saiyans to leave Astoria and never return after she and Dirkan had killed King Dayrus (the current King Vegeta's uncle), who had been the Saiyan king on Astoria at that time.  
  
Before the Battle of Chloe, where Frieza and his forces tried to conquer Astoria, Shalila Chloe had tried to make peace with the Saiyans and convince them not to ally with Frieza, but she and her people had refused to give in to King Vegeta's unreasonable demands which included many Astorian women as brides, total and eternal subjection to the Saiyans forever, and unlimited rights to all of Astoria's resources. The infamous Summit at the Temple of Chloe, which was supposed to bring a peaceful truce between Astoria and Vegeta, ended in complete disaster when Superior Granden (title for an Astorian king) Bajal Chloe and King Vegeta nearly fought each other physically and verbally, and that was that. Astoria and Vegeta were still as bitter enemies as ever and even more so when some Saiyans had recently attacked and killed important members of Shalila Chloe's family, including her husband, Bajal, and her son, Crown Prince Mantros Chloe, heir to the Astorian throne. King Vegeta was certain that if Astoria wasn't cleared and destroyed, Superior Gran (queen) Shalila Chloe would definitely seek revenge, for Astorians were no more forgiving than the Saiyans were towards those who tried to harm them without cause.  
  
Jaden and Zarbon could have cared less which side won this continuing feud, as long as they weren't dragged into it. Neither one of them were too eager to tangle with Saiyans or Astorians at this time, although they knew that Frieza was feeling uneasy about the existence of both powerful races. Frieza had recently hinted to them about the possibility about eradicating the entire Saiyan race, and Zarbon had been leaning in support towards it, as he secretly feared the Saiyans. Jaden privately thought that it wasn't necessary, as long as the Saiyans didn't rebel; she thought that as annoying as the Saiyans could be, they were too valuable to be eliminated. Jaden was the current trainer of Prince Vegeta and Princess Journa, King Vegeta's favored and two youngest children, and she hated to see such potentially indispensable fighters destroyed. Jaden didn't believe in wasting or destroying anything or anyone that could be of good use later on, but half of the time, Frieza did not agree with her on those opinions.  
  
Jaden and Zarbon thought that the visit on planet Vegeta had been a total waste of their time, since they could not find out anything new about the purging of planet Astoria or the capturing of little Princess Tayla Chloe. At this time, their separate space pods were almost near Frieza's mother ship.  
  
"It's likely that our good Lord Frieza sent those Saiyan brats on a suicide mission," Jaden quipped through her scouter to Zarbon, who was in his own pod. "We couldn't even take Astoria, and he sends three brats to pull off what an army of thousands couldn't?"  
  
"A few Saiyans have the power of a thousand of our soldiers," Zarbon pointed out to her, his voice coming from his scouter. "And three powerful Oozarus can clear a planet, even a planet such as Astoria."  
  
"Right…" Jaden said skeptically through her device to him. "They could, as long as the Astorians don't chop off their tails. I wager that those boys don't make it past Chloe. Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz are unusually strong, even for Saiyans, but this is the first time that they've ever battled Astorians. The Astorians can be a merciless bunch when they're backed up against the proverbial wall; you and I know that from experience. My little royal recruit has a lot to learn yet, and speaking of recruits, how is Chestra coming along in her training?"  
  
"Exceptionally well," Zarbon told her, a bit dreamily, thinking of Chestra's lovely face and graceful body. "Ever since the Mid-Evaluation two days ago, she has been pushing herself to the limit; in a few years, she may be as strong as us. I just hope that…well, never mind."  
  
"Never mind what?" Jaden asked through her scouter. "Does she have any faults, what? Faults have to be corrected in a recruit, even in a recruit that you happen to favor; you know that better than anyone else. Not that I've really seen any faults in her yet, but even I would have to remain objective, if she were my recruit, even if she is my friend. You sound concerned for her or about her; what's up, if you don't mind my asking."  
  
"Jaden," Zarbon asked worriedly through his scouter, as their pods entered the landing port of Frieza's mother ship. "Has Lord Frieza mentioned Chestra to you lately?"  
  
"Not since before her Mid-Eval," Jaden replied. "Why?"  
  
"Have you noticed how tense and upset she was after Lord Frieza shook her hand to congratulate her? She looked afraid of him, as if Lord Frieza was planning to devour her. She ran out of the Evaluation room fast afterwards, looking as if she had to go back to live on that wretched Egimari again. Did you see what happened?"  
  
"Yeah, I did, and now it worries me too, now that I think about it," Jaden told him, as their pods crash-landed next to each other on the pod pads inside the landing port. The doors of both pods slowly opened, and Jaden and Zarbon crawled out of their cramped spacecrafts. Jaden stretched all of her limbs wide, arms, legs, and both tails of hers to unusual lengths, but then again, like all Rybanese, she could stretch her limbs like rubber. "I can't get a word out of her what she had been afraid of, or even what Frieza did or said to her on that day. She just hedges and avoids the subject; outside of threatening to beat her, I didn't know what else to do, and I don't want to hurt her." She and Zarbon dusted themselves off, as they stepped on the moving conveyor walks that would lead them to the main section of Frieza's mother ship, where Frieza's private quarters and office were housed.  
  
"She won't talk to me much about it either; she just asked me to extend her training hours, saying that it would keep her occupied. But it's not her extra training that worries me; it's Lord Frieza. I think Lord Frieza wants her for himself."  
  
"You mean sexually or romantically?" Jaden asked bluntly, as she bit off a hangnail.  
  
Zarbon's tense silence answered her question.  
  
"You want to go find out, if she's okay?" Jaden asked him. "Just contact her on your scouter."  
  
Zarbon did, but the only response from the communication channel from Chestra's scouter was a fuzzy whirring sound, similar to the sounds during an old television's "popcorn" screen.  
  
"Chestra? Chestra? Chestra, are you there? Please respond!"  
  
Same fuzzy sound, no response.  
  
Jaden tried on hers, and she could not get an answer from Chestra's scouter either. Zarbon and Jaden looked at each other worriedly, for it was not like Chestra to ignore a message from either one of them.  
  
"Contact Lord Frieza," she told him finally.  
  
"Are you crazy?" Zarbon asked her.  
  
"Just do it, Zarbon," Jaden told him. "If he's planning to do something to her, he'll surely want privacy, so he'll have his scouter channel blocked. Try to send an emergency signal."  
  
"What excuse should I give?" he asked.  
  
"Umm…tell him that that was a possible malfunction with your space pod, but that you made it here safely. Ask if he will send a Technician to check it out."  
  
Zarbon pressed the emergency button on his scouter and tapped in Frieza's code. A long, tedious beep emitted from the scouter…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
…Frieza hissed in fury; what sort of an emergency was so important that his "lovemaking" session with his new woman had to be so rudely interrupted? He had just now ripped off Chestra's slip with his hand, and Chestra was trying to prevent him from removing her underwear as well. Frieza was not in a good mood now as it was, for Chestra had made the mistake of spitting in his face, which obtained her a hard slap across her face. Frieza had not wanted to hit her; he had wanted her to enjoy what he was doing with her, but she would not cooperate! Now she had forced him to strike her, when all he wanted to do was mate with her and make her his. He should have claimed her by now, but he had not managed to force himself on her yet, and he was getting more and more impatient by the second.  
  
He tightened his tail around her and hissed in her face, "You try to fight me again, little girl, and you will be sorry. I wanted this to be fun and pleasurable for both of us, but it looks like I'm the only one who will enjoy this. Now be quiet while I answer this ridiculous 'emergency call'. It better not be about Balair screwing one of my father's concubines again, or Ginyu unable to do his next assignment because he strained his groin or hamstrings practicing one of his stupid poses; no one around here seems to know what a true emergency is." Frieza pressed the response button on his scouter and snapped, "Yes, what is it?"  
  
"Sire, it's me, Zarbon." Chestra gasped when she heard the voice of the man she had started to love.   
  
Frieza could barely keep from growling, as he replied to his head commander, "Yes, what it, Zarbon?"  
  
"Sire, my space pod may be malfunctioning. Some of the devices in my craft had failed to work when they should have, and furthermore, sire…"  
  
Frieza had not gagged or restrained Chestra's mouth in anyway, and that would soon become his first mistake.  
  
Chestra, knowing that what she was about to do would probably get her injured worse, or even killed, did it anyway. She screamed at the top of her lungs, uncertain that it would do any good, "Zarbon, is that you? It's Chestra! Please help me! Frieza is trying to rape me, help!"  
  
Zarbon's voice raised several decibels. "Chestra? Sweet Kami!" And then Zarbon's voice turned angry. "Frieza, what are you doing to her?" he growled.  
  
"Help me, Zarbon, please!" Chestra cried in fear.  
  
Frieza slapped her again. "I told you to be quiet, you loud little wench, you understand me? You are mine!"  
  
"Let her go, Frieza!" Zarbon roared through the scouter. "Or I won't hesitate to challenge you!" Zarbon gasped aloud at himself when he realized that he had just threatened his liege.  
  
"You dare to talk to me this way! Zarbon, do you know who you are addressing? If I want Chestra, I will have her! You can easily find another woman; Chestra's mine. Now you will apologize-Zarbon-Zarbon?"  
  
No answer. Zarbon's channel had been closed.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"You know that you just signed your own death warrant by threatening Frieza like that," Jaden pointed out to Zarbon, as they both swiftly flew through the corridors of Frieza's mother ship. Zarbon had traced Frieza's channel to his office on his scouter, and he and Jaden were rushing to reach there in time to save Chestra from Frieza's clutches. Jaden went on to add, "And I just signed mine by agreeing to help."  
  
"Do you wish to back out?" Zarbon asked her, sweat dabbing his brow, as he and the Rybanese woman zipped through the air of the corridors, their bodies resembling a blue blur and a green blur."  
  
"Hell no! She's my friend too, lover boy, and even though our dear Frieza will probably use us for target practice after this stunt that we are about to pull, it will be worth it if we keep him from raping Chestra. Believe me, I know what it's like to be helpless and trapped like that. I understand now why Lord Freezy and Sagash managed to get along so well; Freezy is no better than Sags."  
  
Zarbon said nothing. He had regrets about not doing anything to intervene when Jaden had first said that Sagash had raped her, and like Frieza, he had not believed her at that time. Sagash had been one of Zarbon's good friends; he and Zarbon had been hired under Frieza at almost the same time, and they had trained together. Zarbon had finally started believing that Sagash had molested Jaden just before they had arrived on the moon of Chloe of planet Astoria to fight in the Battle of Chloe when he had heard Sagash taunt Jaden about what he was doing to her. After Jaden had been inducted into Top Elite, Zarbon had privately apologized to her for not believing her and not intervening when he should have, and Jaden had forgiven him, although her forgiveness had been grudging and reluctant at first. Gradually, however, they had formed a steady acquaintance that occasionally hinted of friendship.  
  
Now they were both united, working together to save someone that they both cared about from their own lord's hands. Jaden and Zarbon were not what anyone on the opposing sides would call good or nice, of course, but even assassins and criminals can love and care for someone else. Jaden knew what it was like to be victimized and have her innocence stolen from her, and Zarbon didn't want the woman that he had just realized that he loved hurt by a monster like his liege. Both of them saw this not only as a chance to help Chestra (even though Frieza would probably turn them both to ash before they had the chance), but also as a rare opportunity to redeem themselves for the evil things that they did (and would probably continue doing).  
Before they knew it, they were at Frieza's office door, and Zarbon and Jaden were preparing to open the door. Zarbon pulled himself back in order to blast the door open.  
  
"This should take one minute…"  
  
Jaden cried, "GLASS FREEZE!" and turned Frieza's door into glass with a ki blast. She then kicked the glass hard with her two tails, shattering it instantly.  
  
"Or maybe less…" Zarbon quipped.  
  
When they burst into Frieza's office, Frieza was still wrestling with Chestra, and when he looked up angrily, he was not thrilled to have new guests.  
  
"Zarbon! Jaden!" Chestra gasped.  
  
"Let her go, Frieza, now," Zarbon said in a deadly, lethal tone of voice. "Or I won't hesitate to destroy you."  
  
Frieza, who still had Chestra pinned to the floor with his tail wrapped around her, looked at Zarbon and flashed him a look that could turn the handsome warrior into ash. "Zarbon, you and Jaden have just made the biggest mistake of your lives. If you two wish to live after today, I suggest that you both leave immediately," he told them both coolly.  
  
"Let her go, Frieza, and we will leave," Jaden told her stonily. "She doesn't want to be with you, and she's made that clear." Frieza turned his eyes to her.  
  
"Jadenia," Frieza told her icily, and his cold tone sent a shiver down Jaden's normally steely spine. Frieza only called her "Jadenia" when he was about to threaten or scold her. She just barely managed to keep her cold, stern expression; deep down she could be as terrified of Frieza as anyone else; she just didn't show it. "Jadenia, this is none of your concern. I understand that Chestra is your new friend, but I am lord here, I am master, I reign supreme. You know that I am more powerful than anyone in the universe, and you know what I am capable of when I'm furious. Your family's deaths alone should have convinced you. And now, foolish woman, you and pretty boy here think that you two have a chance to fight me? I hate to kill two fine Top Elite officers, for one little wench is not worth challenging me. Zarbon can easily find someone else to grace his bed; I have claimed Chestra, and I will have her. Leave immediately."  
  
Zarbon tried to remain calm; he had never defied Frieza like this before, and he was still not one hundred percent sure how to go about it. But he wouldn't allow Frieza, ruthless tyrant or not, to harm the woman that he loved.  
  
"Release her, sire, now," he said as boldly as possible.  
  
"You heard him!" Chestra cried. "Let me go!"  
  
"Quiet, girl," Frieza snapped at his potential conquest. He narrowed his eyes at Jaden and Zarbon in a look that could destroy the entire Rosetta Galaxy. "This is your last chance, both of you; leave now before I obliterate both of you," he said in a cold tone.  
  
Jaden had a plan. "What's the matter, Freezy?" she sneered, knowing that he hated to be addressed by that nickname (Frieza's brother, Coola, would call him "Freezy" when he wanted to give him a harder time than usual). "You have enough guts to rape a recruit, a kid, but you don't even have the nerve to face two of your best Elite officers? Pity, Freezy, maybe you're starting to fear us as much as you do the Saiyans; maybe that's why you're still clinging to Chestra instead of taking us on, hmm? Perhaps, you're losing your touch. I'm sure that the Saiyans would be pleased to know that they could destroy you now; maybe I should send a nice little message to King Vegeta telling him about your concerns. I wonder how the Saiyan king and his Elite forces would react, if they knew that their benefactor, the great Lord Frieza was thinking of wiping them out."  
  
Frieza snarled, "Don't even think about it, Jadenia! Do you really think that they would believe you over me?"  
  
Jaden smirked, hiding her fear well. She wanted to incite Frieza to fight her; perhaps Zarbon and Chestra could flee while she was fighting her final battle, for Jaden knew that she didn't have a chance against her liege. However, Jaden felt at times that she truly had little to stay alive for except to annoy Frieza, Dodoria, and Balair; she had not forgiven or forgotten what they did to her. She also suspected that Frieza or the Sistrai sent the Hycanese to destroy her people, but she couldn't prove it yet.  
  
"Would it really matter?" Jaden asked calmly. "With Saiyans, suspicions would be enough, and despite King Vegeta's orders that they respect you and follow your orders, many of them hate your guts. A few Elite Saiyan Oozarus could easily take you out, and you know it. What a way to die, dying by the hands of the so-called monkeys! It would be interesting to watch."  
  
Frieza hissed, as he held Chestra tighter to him; he wasn't about to give her up, even though she was struggling and thrashing about still, "You dare to blackmail me, Jadenia? That will cost you."  
  
Jaden snorted, putting on a good act. "Well, if you want to collect your payment, then get off of your white, transforming, scrawny as-"  
  
"You'll die for defying and disrespecting me!" And Frieza lost control of his anger then, flinging Chestra to the side, releasing her at last. He raised his fist and launched himself at Jaden, who back flipped several times across the office floor to get away from him.   
  
She shape shifted quickly into a sharp rapier (she was the fastest shape shifter out of Frieza's fighters) and aimed herself at Frieza's chest. Frieza aimed his eye lasers at the flying rapier, but the Jaden/rapier slashed his arm before Frieza could prevent her. Unfortunately, Frieza decided to use his finger lasers afterwards, and one of his deadly lasers hit the rapier before she had a chance to slash him again. Jaden could keep any form that she wanted for as long as she wanted, as long as she was not hit by a ki blast; Frieza's finger laser forced her back into her original shape. She took a deep breath and shape shifted into a long link of titanium steel chains, and in this chain form, she swiftly wrapped herself around Frieza, entrapping him. Jaden in chain form tightened her grip around the evil tyrant, pinning his arms, tail, and legs in a titanium steel chain link cocoon. Frieza struggled against the restraints, and Jaden just barely managed to hold onto him.  
  
The chain link cried out, "Both of you get the hell out of here! I'm not going to be able to hold him forever!"  
  
Zarbon hated to leave Jaden to fight Frieza alone, knowing that she didn't have much chance of survival for long, but he had to get Chestra away from the evil tyrant that had tried to rape her. A dazed, terrified Chestra struggled to her tiny feet, and she could only watch in shock, as the chain link Jaden tightened her grip on a very angry and very deadly Frieza. Zarbon rushed to her and scooped her up in his arms, holding her to him tightly.  
  
"What do we do now?" Chestra asked worriedly.  
  
"Get the hell out of here!" Jaden roared, after hearing Chestra with her superb Rybanese hearing. "Go now! I can't hold him for much longer!"  
  
Zarbon didn't hesitate; he threw Chestra over his right shoulder, and he flew out of Frieza's office with a speed faster than a comet. Chestra, both numb and shaken at the same time, watched behind them worriedly, as Zarbon raced through the corridors in the air with her on his shoulder. Zarbon was a rocket, a green blur, as he zipped through the corridors to the pod ports, where he and Jaden had just come from.   
  
He didn't stop until they reached his pod, and then he quickly set Chestra down on her feet while he entered a code pressing several buttons on the pod. The pod door opened, and as soon as it had opened completely, Zarbon seized Chestra in his arms and threw both of them inside the pod. He then pressed a button to close the pod, and then he pressed another button to signal the mother ship's launching controls. Zarbon pulled the safety belt over both him and Chestra, who was sitting on his lap, holding onto his neck tightly. He then he buckled them in, and before they knew it, the pod was launched from the mother ship like a boy spitting out a piece of gum.   
  
Within minutes, the pod containing them was soaring through space, past Frieza's mother ship and planet Vegeta.  
  
  
A/N: Okay, maybe that was too easy for Zarbon and Jaden to save Chestra, but only the battle has been won; the war is far from over. Jaden's luck soon runs out when two other Top Elite officers show up to help Frieza, and the nervy Top Elite Rybanese officer may be fighting her last battle ever. Meanwhile, Zarbon and Chestra flee to an asteroid to hide until they can make plans, and they start to break a few rules about proper conduct between a recruit and a trainer. What rules? Well, I'm not going to give too much away, but for those who have been rooting for Zarbon and Chestra, things will finally start heating up with our main couple... 


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Zarbon and Chestra FIN...

_Disclaimer: Again I don't own DBZ or any of its characters. Any characters mentioned in this story that are not in DBZ are mine. I also do not own the rights to the song, "Whenever You Call," which is sung by Mariah Carey and Brian McKnight; they and whoever wrote the song are the only ones that I know of with rights to it._

_(A/N: TO TAYLA OF ASTORIA READERS: If you have read "Chapter Thirty: Frieza's Elite Soldiers" in "Tayla of Astoria", which also starts Part Three of the story, you may have noticed that I said that Chestra and Zarbon do not act on their feelings until after Chestra's Final Evaluation nor do they make love until then. Forget that you ever read that part, for I am revising it, and I am putting up a slightly revised version of Chapter Thirty. You may continue to see different versions of Chapter Thirty, for the webmasters of those sites cannot always revise my stories as fast as I can. So the new one I am putting up at is the one we will go with from here on out. Yes Chestra and Zarbon will make love before Chestra's Final Evaluation, and so we go from there.)_

_A/N 2: Also, there is a lime alert in this chapter. Yes, there was a lemon version of this chapter, but that is forever lost, and I have no intention of recreating it, as I no longer write lemons. There's plenty here to tantalize you, I promise._

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Zarbon and Chestra FINALLY Act On Their Feelings**

Jaden's grip on Frieza in her chain link form was starting to weaken; she continued to squeeze him tighter, vainly hoping to restrain him just a little longer, but she knew that she would eventually grow tired and be forced to release him. She knew that Frieza was going to wind up reducing her to a pile of Rybanese ash after this little rebellion, but she figured she may as well have her fun while she still lived, which probably wouldn't be for too long.

Jaden wasn't trying to overthrow Frieza (she knew that she had a better chance of convincing Balair to marry her than she did of successfully ending Frieza's evil reign); she was just trying to keep him busy long enough for Chestra and Zarbon to flee. She wished the two lovebirds luck, and she hoped that they could enjoy what time that they had together. Frieza would eventually find them after he disposed of her carcass. She pitied them; Frieza would probably decimate Zarbon, and then he would take Chestra for himself. Or, if Frieza was in a really nasty mood, he might even rape Chestra right in front of Zarbon before killing the head commander. Jaden shivered at those thoughts, and her shivers made her chains rattle.

And to make matters worse, someone knocked on the door. "Sire?"

Frieza struggled against the Jaden chains, and Jaden quickly used the end of the chain form that she was in to gag Frieza, so that he could not speak. Frieza threw himself to the floor, thrashing about, hoping to hurt Jaden the chain and force her to release him.

"Sire?" It was Dodoria's voice.

"Mmm-hmm!" Frieza mumbled, trying to get Jaden out of his mouth, so that he could speak.

"Lord Frieza, are you in there?" Balair asked. He was with Dodoria.

Frieza continued to thrash about, and then he realized that he was probably going to have to go to his second form in order to force Jaden to release him. Even the nervy Jaden wouldn't be able to restrain him in his next form.

"That's it! Something has to be wrong with Lord Frieza. I'm blasting this door open," Dodoria declared on the other side of the door.

"No way! He'll kill us. Remember how nasty he was the last time we blasted open his door," Balair told him in a snicker. "He's probably getting some; when he's getting some lovin', he never answers his door or his scouter. He probably has some woman wrapped around him at this moment."

If only Balair knew just how true his statement was, although he would probably retch at learning which woman "was wrapped around" Lord Frieza at this moment.

Frieza hissed and growled the best that he could, with Jaden the chain in his mouth. Stupid Balair; he picked a fine time as usual to think about sex! Why did Balair always think that every heterosexual male in Frieza's forces was always "getting some"? It didn't matter that two-thirds of the time that statement was true when the male fighters were between assignments; Frieza was fervently wishing that Balair didn't have sex on the brain at this moment.

_Don't listen to him, Dodoria,_ Frieza silently thought. _Open that door_.

"Sire? Are you okay?" Dodoria's loud voice boomed through the door.

Frieza didn't want to have to change to his second form because it would waste a lot of energy doing so. He finally tried a last resort; he sank his hard teeth into the chain links of Jaden, and although he broke several of his teeth doing so, he also managed to free his tongue.

"No, I'm not! Dodoria, Balair, get in here immediately! I need assistance!"

The ever-loyal Top Elite officers blasted the door open with a ki blast, and Frieza sighed. He was glad that he didn't have any fancy doors put in his office; some minion or other always managed to damage them eventually. The jaws of Dodoria and Balair dropped when they saw a chain wrapped around their liege. Not yet realizing the seriousness of the situation, Balair spoke up:

"Sire, you haven't gone back to performing magic tricks again, have you? Remember what almost happened the last time you performed a trick involving a chain? It took us hours to free you those three years ago, especially when you got yourself stuck to that giant magnet that you were going to use in another trick."

(Frieza, much to his and everyone else's embarrassment to this day, had once fancied that he could become as great a magician as a warrior. His "hobby" had lasted for six months, and it had involved every disastrous trick from accidentally goring himself when he had tried to lie down on a bed of nails, to nearly killing one of the poor Ginyu Girls with his knife-throwing trick, to making someone disappear permanently when he had tried to do his disappearing/reappearing trick on a Low-Level Officer. Finally after the last awful magic show that he had forced his soldiers to watch him perform in, King Cold had forbade him from staging any more tricks, much to everyone's everlasting thankfulness.)

"Yeah," Dodoria agreed, not realizing yet that the chain was actually Jaden. "No offense, my beloved sire, but magic is not your forte. That incident with the sawing-yourself-in-half trick proved it; King Cold was furious at all the money that he had to spend to have your tail and your genitals reattached to you after that stunt."

"Yeah," Balair told him. "And I think our good King Cold forbade him to perform any more magic shows."

"This chain is Jaden; you geniuses!" Frieza roared, trying to prevent Jaden from gagging him again. "She turned herself into a chain; now get her off of me!"

Balair rushed over to them and he wasted no time in firing a gigantic ki blast that engulfed the entire office in smoke and flames. After the automatic sprinkler system that Frieza had installed in every room on the ship put out the fires that had peeled off the wallpaper, burned away the carpet, and completely decimated the desk, Frieza's beautifully decorated office was blackened, with the only colors other than black left in the room being the colors of the occupants. The whilver desk was a pile of white and silver ashes and splinters; the gold carpet resembled burnt yellowed grass that had not received water in weeks, and the fawn leather chair was a metal skeleton, with a few pieces of brown leather hanging here and there, and the gold crown molding now resembled clumps of gold clay sticking to the walls. Jaden was back in her natural form, scorched, but still alive, and Frieza was free.

Balair's mouth gaped in horror at how much damage he had done to Frieza's office. After Frieza finished off Jaden, he probably would be next. Dodoria bit his tongue to keep from yelling at his best friend; he was caught between fury at Balair's stupidity and pity for him, knowing that Frieza would probably annihilate Balair as well as Jaden.

Balair stammered, "Sire, you must forgive me, please. I didn't realize how much damage that new attack of mine would do to your office! I meant to blast Jaden-"

Before Frieza could give Jaden her just deserts, he yelled at Balair, interrupting him, "Balair, you idiot! You destroyed my entire office; do you know how expensive whilver is to replace? And my beautiful carpet from planet Edensia; you better be lucky that I didn't have that planet cleared yet, or you would be weaving me a new carpet instead of the people there! And the crown molding from planet Eyevar; my beautiful crown molding..."

Jaden was no fool; she decided to take advantage of Frieza's complaining about his ostentatious, fancy office being destroyed to escape. She turned herself into a flea while no one was watching, and she began to leap out of the room in giant leaps and bounds, past Dodoria, who was nearest to the door, and out into the hall. Frieza was still ranting about his destroyed office at Balair when Jaden the flea had made it safely to the corridor outside of Frieza's office. She then transformed into a housefly and flew swiftly away.

"...And furthermore, you-you fool, how am I supposed to replace my beautiful office chair? It was a birthday gift from my brother, Coola! And another thing-wait a minute! Where did Jaden go?"

Balair and Dodoria looked around the office frantically, but they could not find her. They turned on their scouters, but the only ki signatures that they could pick up belonged to the two of them and Frieza.

"She slipped past us, sire," Dodoria answered feebly.

"Why didn't you dolts stop her?" Frieza demanded to know.

"She-she must have shape shifted into a tiny bug or into air or something, sire," Balair stammered.

"Well, both of you go after her and arrest her for treason!" Frieza ordered. "If she resists arrest, kill her!"

"Gladly," Balair said happily, joyful that he would finally be able to eliminate his Rybanese archenemy once and for all. He and Dodoria knew that Jaden would put up a fight before she would surrender to them.

"Oh, and before you go, gentlemen; I want Zarbon and Chestra arrested as well. You can do anything that you like to Zarbon except for killing him. Chestra is not to be harmed; she is to be put in protective custody and brought to me immediately."

Dodoria and Balair gasped in horror at Frieza's last orders. "Sire," Dodoria began. "Zarbon is one of your best men, as well as your Head Commander. What has he done?"

"Yeah," Balair added. "He may be a pretty boy and a fop, but he is one of the best fighters that you have."

"He stole my woman," Frieza told them both evenly. "I have claimed Chestra for my mate, my concubine, and Zarbon thinks that he can make her his-"

Balair had the nerve to interrupt. "How dare he! Chestra is-" he stopped himself immediately before he said the word "mine". He had wanted the little girl for himself still, but even she was not worth challenging Frieza over. He could easily find himself another playmate, if he had to. He couldn't afford to make the same mistake as Zarbon had just did; pretty young females were a dime a dozen to Balair. He sighed, disappointed that Chestra would be Frieza's woman instead of his; he knew he should have tried harder.

"Sire," he finally asserted firmly as possible. "I will gladly get Chestra back for you."

"Same here," Dodoria added, with a trace of disappointment. He wasn't saddened that Frieza had chosen Chestra because Dodoria wanted Chestra for himself; he was disappointed because he, Dodoria, secretly wanted Frieza for himself. Why couldn't his sire desire him the same way that he did Chestra?

"Good, great," Frieza told them. "Now go find them!"

"Yes, Lord Frieza, sir!"

* * *

_Planet Sime, in a cave..._

_"Love wandered inside  
Stronger than you  
Stronger than I."_

Zarbon and Chestra were huddling together in a cave, with Chestra sobbing on Zarbon's shoulder, as she sat on his lap, clothed only in her silk green lacy underwear. She had long overcome her embarrassment at Zarbon seeing her barely clothed, even though she was topless. Now that the shock of what happened to her had worn off, Chestra was upset. "He made feel so dirty, Zarbon! I feel so ashamed and so stupid for going to his office! What in sweet Kami, was I thinking? I should have refused to go, but I know that it's against the rules to refuse a summons! How could I have been so foolish?" she cried, as the tears raced down her pale cheeks.

Zarbon stroked her hair, amazed at seeing her cry for the first time. Her fear and shame of herself made Zarbon angrier with Frieza than before. It didn't matter that Frieza practically ruled the entire galaxy; even he had no business forcing himself on a woman, or even trying to. "Chestra, shush, you're safe now, and it's not your fault. You were only obeying orders, and Frieza was in the wrong, not you. He is the one who is dirty, not you; he's the one who should be cringing and crying. If I could destroy him, I would, believe me."

"What is it about me that makes men want to rape me, Zarbon? I've had to endure men like him off and on since I was twelve years old! Is it something that I am doing, signals that I am giving off, what? I wish I knew, so that men would leave me alone!"

Zarbon gasped out. "Chestra, you don't want me to leave you alone too, do you?" His voice was filled with worry, for he was afraid that Chestra would not want him to bother her either. Chestra looked up through her teary eyes and noticed the fear and worry in Zarbon's eyes. She saw that he needed reassurance now, as much as she did.

"No," she whispered against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and Zarbon was visibly relieved. "Not you, Zarbon; you are the first and only man that I ever truly wanted. Forgive me for speaking so boldly, but it's true. I know that I've only known you for a short time, Zarbon, but I-I already love you. You are the first man in my life who's affection that I ever wanted to return. No man has ever made me feel like you do. I know that I am a child, compared to you, and I have little experience with men, even though I have been engaged twice, but my love is real. Do you believe that it is possible for a girl my age to love?"

_"And now that it has begun  
We cannot turn back  
We can only turn into one"_

"Do you believe that it is possible for an old man for me to love?"

"I don't consider you old."

"I am a good forty or more so years older than you are."

"Age doesn't matter; I love you, no matter what. Do you mind my saying it?"

"Do you mind my saying it back?"

"No, not at all."

Zarbon whispered the longed-for three little words in Chestra's cat ear, and Chestra blushed. Before she knew it, Zarbon's mouth brushed against hers in a gentle kiss. A trainer kissing and necking with a recruit was strictly forbidden by Frieza, but Zarbon and Chestra no longer cared about the rules, not after what their liege had done.

_"I won't ever be too far away to feel you  
And I won't hesitate at all  
Whenever you call."_

Chestra gently returned his loving kiss, as she slid her slender, snowy arms around his neck and pulled herself against him. Zarbon pulled her tighter against his chest, his mouth pressing against hers in such a gentle, loving way. Chestra snuggled into his chest, as she nuzzled his throat, while Zarbon thrust his hand into her ruby side of her hair. She purred contentedly, as he slowly slipped his tongue inside of her tiny mouth, his tongue dancing with hers in a slow embrace.

After a moment, Zarbon gently slid his tongue out of her mouth and whispered softly, "I love you, and you know that I would never hurt you, right?"

Chestra nodded eagerly, smiling and blushing.

"I trust you."

_"And I'll always remember  
The part of you so tender  
I'll be the one to catch your fall  
Whenever you call."_

Zarbon nibbled on her neck, while Chestra purred happily, as she stroked his emerald tresses with her soft, white hand. He trailed kisses along her neck and jaw, right up to her mouth again, where his lips joined with hers once more. Chestra pressed herself against him, holding him to her, as they continued to kiss, their lips rubbing together in rhythm. Zarbon slowly began to lie down, pulling her down with him. Chestra had no objections in lying down with him; she cuddled close to him, as she idly played with a lock of his green hair, while they continued to kiss. Finally, she unhurriedly slid her tongue into his mouth, as she gently nibbled on his lower lip. Finally, she moved her lips from his lips, kissing along his jawbone, and then up to his ear, where she began to nibble on it and kiss it.

Zarbon nuzzled her throat in pure contentment, his nose tickling the hollow of her throat, as he began to kiss it, breathing in her natural scent, which he found very alluring. His right hand stroked the silkiness of her inner arm, his fingers lightly prancing along the satiny skin that shimmered in the moonlight of the largest of planet Sime's ten moons, her flesh casting an iridescent glow.

He raised his head, sweat pearling on his brow, as his gold eyes gazed intensively into her jade ones. "Chestra..." he moaned softly.

_"And I'm truly inspired  
Finding my soul  
There in your eyes."_

Chestra whispered wistfully, with her arms wrapped around his neck, "Zarbon, don't you think that your armor is getting in the way?"

Zarbon chuckled softly. "I was hoping that you would do the honors, my dear."

Chestra smiled wickedly, her childlike sexual innocence fading for just a moment. "I'd be glad to."

But before she could unbuckle his armor, Zarbon put a restraining hand on her arm. "Chestra, there's something that I have to confess to you..."

"That you have been with other women before you met me?" Chestra guessed quickly. "I've heard some of the stories from Eclipse and the other Ginyu Girls, but as long as you're not seeing them anymore, I am not worried about that."

"Not that," Zarbon told her. He had not been with another woman since the day that Frieza had given Chestra to him to train to become one of Frieza's fighters, much to the disappointment of the Ginyu Girls, who had all professed as to what an excellent lover Zarbon had been. "Chestra, could you ever give yourself to a man who can transform into a huge ugly monster when he is cornered?"

"You mean a monster that resembles a giant green Oozaru?" Chestra asked lightly.

Zarbon's eyes bulged. "How did you know?"

Chestra said casually, "I heard that story of Balair attempting to make a pass at you when he was drunk." Zarbon blushed slightly at that embarrassing incident; he had nearly destroyed Balair that day, and Balair had been forbidden to drink for a long time afterwards.

"The Ginyu Force members didn't hesitate to tell me that tale, but I didn't truly believe it until one night, I happened to pass the training room where you and Dodoria were having an impromptu sparring match. Dodoria must have said something to anger you because you suddenly transformed into that creature that you were talking about. Needless to say, I was stunned, but it didn't change how I felt about you."

"You-you saw me turn into that horrid monster? I hate doing that; I only do that when there's no other way out."

Chestra kissed his nose gently. "It doesn't matter to me, Zarbon; I knew all along that you could transform."

"And you are not repulsed by it?"

"No."

"Thank the Kais for that!"

"I can thank the Kais for quite a few things right now, being in your arms among them."

_"And you  
Have opened my heart  
And lifted me inside  
By showing me yourself  
Undisguised."_

"Now may I remove your armor, Commander?"

"Yes, VR, you may."

_"I won't ever be too far away to feel you  
And I won't hesitate at all  
Whenever you call."_

Chestra smiled devilishly, as she unbuckled his armor, and within minutes she had removed it. Zarbon was dressed only in his undershirt and pants, and Chestra quickly removed his shirt as well. She kissed his mouth fervently, as Zarbon began to leisurely undress her, removing what little she had left.

_"And I'll always remember  
The part of you so tender  
I'll be the one to catch you fall  
Whenever you call."_

"Zarbon," she whispered, just a bit nervously. "You know that I have never done this before, right?"

Zarbon chuckled softly, as he took off his underwear. "You already said that you were a virgin, remember?"

"I'm glad that my first time will be with you."

"So am I, love, so am I. I am going to be your first, and I will be your last," Zarbon told her sternly, but with a sparkle in his golden eye.

Chestra smiled happily, as she kissed him again, pressing against him once more. Zarbon kissed her firmly, his mouth fusing with hers in an act of pure love. She wrapped her legs tighter around him, as Zarbon stroked the smooth skin on her lower back. One hand was now entwined in her hair, and the other arm was holding her to him, as her arms were wrapped around his torso.

"There will be some pain, but I will try to make this as gentle as possible," he whispered to her.

"I trust you," Chestra gasped breathlessly, intoxicated with his kisses and caresses.

_"And I will breathe for you each day  
Comfort you through all the pain  
Gently kiss your fears away."_

_"You can turn to me and cry  
Always understand that I  
Give you all I am inside."_

* * *

_Some time later..._

Cradling his newfound love in his strong arms, Zarbon rested besides her, happily exhausted. She had not only brought him pleasure, but peace and contentment as well. He wanted to care for her and protect her forever; it had been many years since a woman had made him feel like that. Chestra wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his neck with complete joy and pleasure. She loved him so much; he had made her feel so warm and safe, the safest that she had ever felt in her entire life. She felt so protected and loved with him.

_"I won't ever be too far away to feel you  
And I won't hesitate at all  
Whenever you call."_

"You were something," Zarbon murmured in her ear gruffly, as he slowly withdrew from her. Chestra sighed blissfully.

"Really?" she whispered, just a bit hesitantly. "I was okay for someone who was doing this for the first time."

"You were more than okay," he told her, a bit breathlessly. "I can't begin to describe, love, but you pleased me more than you ever know!"

Chestra buried her face in his chest, kissing his pecs. "I love you, you know, I always will love you."

Zarbon tilted her head up towards his, and he kissed her passionately. "I love you too, love, and I will always be there for you, no matter what."

"I will be always be there for you too."

They kissed fervently for one last time before they fell asleep, wrapped tightly in each other's arms.

_"And I'll always remember  
The part of you so tender  
I'll be the one to catch you fall  
Whenever you call  
Whenever you call."_


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Out of Luck, Out of Tim...

Chapter Fifteen: Out of Luck, Out of Time  
  
Two days later…  
  
"I can't believe it took us so long to catch this witch!"  
  
"Let's just give her what she deserves, Bali, and get it over with. We still have to find Zarbon and Chestra."  
  
"This is going to be fun!"  
  
Frieza told Balair and Dodoria silkily, "You two may do as you wish with her, but do not kill her. I will need her to tell me where Zarbon ran off with my woman."  
  
"She isn't your woman," Jaden said, trying to growl, but her voice was so weak now that it emerged as a moan.  
  
Frieza flew up and whipped her face with the sharp tip of his pink, scaly tail; Jaden bit her lip to keep from screaming. "She is mine; I have claimed her, and you and Zarbon will both pay dearly for interfering with my plans. But if you tell me where they ran off to, I may spare you. Now, Jadenia, where did they go?"  
  
"For the last time, I don't know! Zarbon probably didn't even know himself. You won't get anything useful out of me, I can tell you that," Jaden groaned; it was so hard for her to speak with her mouth sore and swollen (she had developed an abscessed tooth from an earlier fight).  
  
Jaden's luck had run out much quicker than she had expected. She had managed to steal away into a space pod and flee Frieza's mother ship, but her pod's engine had malfunctioned, and she was forced to go to planet Vegeta and land there. Jaden's luck had turned even worse after that because Frieza had alerted King Vegeta about Jaden, Zarbon, and Chestra escaping and the possibility that they might hide on the Saiyan planet. Frieza had also sweetly told King Vegeta that if King Vegeta or any of King Vegeta's people were discovered to be hiding Jaden, Chestra or Zarbon or aiding them in any way, Frieza would take Prince Vegeta away from him when the boy heir returned from Astoria, and King Vegeta would never see his son again. A furious King Vegeta (who hated being bossed by anyone, especially some pink and white transforming lizard whom he now deeply regretted forming an alliance with) had cursed Frieza for his nasty threat, but in the end, he gave in. There was no way that King Vegeta was giving up his beloved son, his heir, potential future Super Saiyan, and the Saiyan race's hope in conquering Frieza and taking over his empire.  
  
King Vegeta was forced to put out a worldwide alert and watch for the three escapees from Frieza, and within hours of his doing that, some Saiyans, both Elite and Low-Level had found Jaden near her space pod in the wilderness, trying to repair her spacecraft. The Saiyans told her that Frieza had ordered her arrest, and Jaden had put up a good fight. She managed to defeat the Low-Level Saiyans and turn them into glass, but the Elites had gathered together and overpowered her, some beating her to a bloody pulp. The barely alive Rybanese warrior had been arrested and brought to the Saiyan royal palace, where Dodoria and Balair were waiting for her (they had come to planet Vegeta on Frieza's orders to see that their liege's orders were carried out).  
  
In the palace throne room, Balair and Dodoria had dealt the almost mortally wounded Jaden two sharp blows to her head, and within a day, they brought her back to Frieza's mother ship to face Frieza's wrath. Now Frieza, Balair, and Dodoria were in Frieza's interrogation room, where Frieza intended to force Jaden to reveal the whereabouts of Zarbon and Chestra before he had her executed. Balair and Dodoria would torture her until she gave Frieza the answers that he wanted.   
  
Jaden was still badly injured (Frieza would not allow her to be treated for her wounds), with almost all of her ribs broken, her two tails nearly crushed, one eye swollen shut, and numerous bruises throughout her body that were concealed by her navy-blue scales; her internal bleeding had not completely stopped yet. She had lost five teeth when a Saiyan had rammed his large fist into her jaw, and her collarbone was fractured. Too weak now to put up much of a fight, Jaden was now dangling from a ceiling with her wrists attached to the ceiling with chains of strong titanium steel chains.  
  
Dodoria happily landed his ham-sized pink fist into her stomach with the force of a battering ram. Jaden bit her lip to keep from screaming or crying out; she was not about to give these bastards the satisfaction of hearing her cry. Jaden still had her ankles unbound, and she responded to Dodoria with a swift kick to his jaw.  
  
"OUCH!" Dodoria screamed, and in retaliation, he head-butted into her backside with his spikes penetrating the armor-like scales through to her vulnerable skin. Jaden used her less injured tail to deal Dodoria a sharp whap to his face. Dodoria growled, as he slammed his fist into her lower back. Jaden once again slapped Dodoria's face with her healthier tail. Then finally Balair intervened, and his fist collided with Jaden's jaw while his other fist belted her stomach. Balair and Dodoria both landed repeated blows and kicks on Jaden's already severely injured body  
  
"Enough for now, boys," Frieza told Balair and Dodoria casually. Balair and Dodoria grudgingly stopped, and Frieza addressed Jaden again, "Jadenia, make it easier on yourself and tell me where they are hiding. I'll even let you get off lightly and let you keep your Top Elite position-"--he ignored Balair and Dodoria's indignant individual protests-"if you tell me where they are at."  
  
"For the last time, I don't know-" Jaden tried to snap. Just as Frieza was about to have Balair and Dodoria beat Jaden again, a beep emitted from his scouter. Frieza sighed and answered his scouter.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Lord Frieza, sire, Head Commander Zarbon's ship has been traced to planet Sime; it is believed that VR Chestra may still be with him."  
  
"Very good, Katon. Are they on the main planet or on one of Sime's ten moons?"  
  
"Main planet, sire; the ship is possibly located on the continent of Mimaki near the Podstrain Caverns. Weather conditions there at the moment involve heavy rain, possibly a thunderstorm."  
  
"Thank you, Katon. Have our pilots set a course for Sime at once."  
  
"Yes, Lord Frieza, sir. Signing off." Katon's voice disappeared.  
  
Dodoria and Balair and Jaden had heard the entire conversation. "Sire," Dodoria began finally. "Isn't Sime that little planet that you were planning to sell to the Unibraugh race next week? Isn't that the same swamp planet that Raspberry and Blueberry cleared three months ago?"  
  
"Yes, Dodoria, it is," Frieza told him. "The Unibraugh wish to buy that planet as a vacation resort; their people seem to enjoy vacationing in dirty, mucky places such as those dense swamps. The swamps are repugnant, and the life forms that did live there were primitive blue plantlike people with ki levels no higher than a ten on the scouter scales. It took Raspberry and Blueberry no time at all to destroy those weaklings; why it took them less than three hours to clear that planet."  
  
"I don't understand why the Unibraugh want that planet other than its swamps," Balair asserted. "Sime has ten moons, but none of those moons are capable of maintaining life; the gases on all of those moons are toxic to even us, except for the moon of Hershon, which has no atmosphere at all. Sime is worth much less than the ridiculously high price that the Unibraugh insist on paying you for."  
  
"True, Balair, very true," Frieza agreed. "But I am not one to refuse a good price, and if the foolish Unies insist on paying such an exorbitant price for a near-worthless swamp planet, that's their business. The only thing of value that Sime really has is her beautiful array of caverns, which are rich with minerals that I 'convinced' the Unibraugh to allow me to have mined. Those minerals are good for ship fuel. As for the moons, the Unibraugh are immune to the gases there, so they would be able to use those satellites to maintain tourists from their own race. But enough about Sime; I have my woman to retrieve, and Balair, Dodoria, you will accompany me there."  
  
"What do we with Jaden?" Dodoria wanted to know.  
  
Frieza looked thoughtfully at Jaden, who was barely clinging to life. He said calmly, "Put her in the rejuvenation tanks, and we will force her to come with us."  
  
"Have her healed?" Dodoria nearly screamed. "She'll try to kill us as soon as she recovers!"  
  
"Sire, no offense meant, but I'm starting to agree with Dr. Katsen that you are long overdue for you biannual head examination," Balair added.  
  
Frieza growled, "I gave an order, and I expect it to be followed! I can still control Jaden; put a ki-restraining collar on her neck before you stick her in the healing tanks. I should have her killed, but unfortunately, as much as it pains me to say it, she'd be too hard to replace. Outside of you, Dodoria, and Zarbon, the subordinate minions respect her the most, and she more than keeps them in line. She can still be restrained, and when she learns to behave herself again, I will have the collar removed. Now do as you are ordered, both of you!"  
  
"Yes, sire," both Dodoria and Balair grumbled, as they went to take Jaden down from the ceiling.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Three day later on planet Sime…  
  
Zarbon nibbled on the back of Chestra's white neck, as she purred contentedly, while her left hand slowly stroked his chest. They had consummated their love for each other many more times, and each time had been better than the one before. Each time they made love was special, but Chestra would always remember fondly the night that she had first given herself to Zarbon. Zarbon had been so gentle, so patient, and so tender that it had brought tears to the former slave girl's eyes. She favored Zarbon with a smile full of pure happiness before she kissed him on his lips.  
  
"I wish we could stay here forever," she sighed happily, after a long kiss with her new mate.  
  
"I wish we could too," Zarbon said wistfully, "but, darling, we can't. This planet has already been cleared and conquered, with the Unibraugh race buying it next week. We are going to leave here today, love."  
  
"It's a pity; I really did start to love these caverns, and that flight we took through the swamps was lovely. I've never seen so many birds of so many different colors, and that was the first time I ever saw birds with four wings instead of two. There was this one bird with a peach-colored head, red beak and legs, and a turquoise body with pale green butterfly wings. I've never seen birds' bodies with four butterfly wings before. They were so sweet, and one of them even landed on the palm of my hand. I wish that I could take one of them with me."  
  
Zarbon smiled, as he reached into a hand-woven basket with a lid that he had found in one of the deserted huts on Sime. He gently scooped the content of the basket out of the container, and he held the object carefully with his hands cupping it.  
  
"Open your hands," he told her, and Chestra did.  
  
Chestra held out her small hands, and Zarbon slowly placed the vibrating object into her hands. She squealed in delight, as she saw a tiny baby bird with a pale green head, red beak and legs, a deep purple body, and four transparent, gauzy aquamarine-tinted butterfly-like wings. She gasped in amazement when the small bird nuzzled her hand. The baby bird was almost old enough to fly, but because he had been orphaned, there had been no mother to teach him, so he hopped around blissfully in Chestra's cupped hands.  
  
"He's precious!" she cried. "Thank you!"  
  
Zarbon laughed softly. "You're very welcome. The poor thing's mother had been found dead, and this was the only one living out of her four children. He seemed lively enough, so I figured I find him a new mother."  
  
"Do you think that he would survive wherever we go to next?"  
  
Zarbon became somber. "That's a good point. He might survive wherever we flee to next, but he might not survive when we travel in space. There is a small life form terrarium in my pod that can maintain a life form in a deep sleep for up to a period of six months, and your new friend could survive in that, if you don't mind him being asleep for a while."  
  
"That should work; he's such a sweet little guy, thank you again," Chestra said, as the miniscule bird started to nip at the tender flesh on her snowy palm.  
  
"I'll get the terrarium, love, and then we will have to pack up what few things we had and leave."  
  
"Where will we go to next?"  
  
"Planet Omicron for now; my uncle's family has been living there as part of an alien exchange program. My uncle can hide us there for a short time until we can make plans; be prepared, though, love, we are going to be cat-and-mouse with Frieza and the others for a long time. Frieza is not one to give up easily. We will have to look over our shoulders for weeks, months, maybe years to come."  
  
Chestra trembled at the mention of Frieza's name. "I don't want to go back to him, I don't. I'd be afraid as to what he would do next; I can truly see now why no one dares to defy him. I am surprised that you and Jaden did. Oh, sweet Kami, Zarbon, we forget about Jaden! Jaden distracted Frieza, so that we could flee! Do you think that she could still be alive?"  
  
Zarbon sighed sadly, "I wish I could definitely say yes, but seeing as Jaden and Frieza have never been the best of friends, the answer is probably no. Frieza has probably ordered the deaths of both Jaden and I by now, and I wouldn't be surprised if Jaden isn't dead already. Frieza is not one to forgive and forget."  
  
"We can't just leave her behind!"  
  
Zarbon held her close. "We don't know for sure, if she survived, love, and I can't contact her on my scouter because Frieza and the Technical officers would pick up on my message. They probably have already traced us here to Sime because of the automatic tracking device inserted in every space pod." Chestra said nothing; she knew of the tracking mechanism, and Zarbon's emergency cloaking device that had hidden the pod on Frieza's radar had stopped working two hours ago, which was why Zarbon was eager to leave Sime as soon as possible.  
  
"What about planet Astoria? They say that it is one of the strongest planets in the universe, and not even Frieza has been able to conquer it."  
  
"They won't welcome us there, love, at least not me. Remember when I told you about the Battle of Chloe during one of our training sessions? I was one of those fighters who led the attack on the Astorians on the royal moon of Chloe. They'd have us blasted before we even entered their atmosphere; Astorians are not a race that forgives and forgets easily. We may have to leave the entire galaxy and go to the Bukata Galaxy or the Milky Way Galaxy to be out of Frieza's reach."  
  
Chestra took his hand and whispered, "I will go wherever you think it is best for us to be. I just want to get away from that vile man. I pity Jaden though; I wish there was some way that we could help her."  
  
"So do I, but I don't think that we can. If we go back, you'll go straight into Frieza's clutches, and I'll go straight into my grave. We'll just have to hope that Jaden's death, if she did die, was as quick as possible. It's very unlikely that she's alive now."  
  
Chestra blinked, and a crystalline tear slid down her pale face. She stifled a sob, for Jaden was one of the few real friends that Chestra had had since she had been taken from planet Ghetti. She would miss her, the gruff, masculine female friend who had risked her own two tails to help Chestra and Zarbon escape. Chestra fervently wished that Jaden had been able to lead a happier life.  
  
Just as she was mourning the loss of Jaden, she and Zarbon heard a terrible whirring sound outside of the cave where they were staying in, and the wind began blowing at fifty miles an hour. They had been hearing thunder and seeing lightening for some time now, and the rains had been pouring steadily, but this whirring sound, like the sound of a giant engine, was not part of the storm.  
  
And then in the stormy twilight, she and Zarbon noticed a giant shadow, like an eclipse, fall over the outside of the cavern grounds. Both lovers grew pale, and Zarbon ran to the mouth of the cave, and he nearly cried out in horror.  
  
"Chestra! We have to flee now! Frieza is here! They've found us!" 


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Now What?

A/N: I am sooooooooo sorry that it took me this long to get back to writing Chestra chapters. I swear that I will try to get another one out within the next week. I was on a writer's block with this one for a while, but I'm slowly getting past it. I also started a new story, a story that's not in the Tayla timeline, a V/B story called "Dragonspaceballs" that's based on the Mel Brooks "Spaceballs" movie. Take a look at it and tell me what you think! If you like Mel Brooks movies, you should find something to like in that story.  
  
Enjoy! R&R pretty please! I don't always know how I'm doing unless you tell me!  
  
  
  
Chapter Sixteen: Now What?  
  
An hour later…  
  
"This place stinks," Balair grumbled, wrinkling his lizard-like nose at the strong, pungent smells of rotting plants and foul, dark water that was part of the Sime swamps. The sky was grayish black, and the ground was black, muddy, and sticky with stunted plants barely peeking out of the ground. His red lizard body was covered from waist-down with black mud, after he had fallen into a mud puddle, which turned out to be a ten feet deep pool of a mixture of quicksand and tar. If he hadn't been able to fly, Balair would have drowned in the muck.  
  
Dodoria complained, "Did we already die and go to hell? Because this place sure looks like it could be it! I hope that snake that bit the tip of my finger off earlier wasn't poisonous." He inclined his giant, pink, spiked head towards the corpse of a glowing red snake that he had killed for ripping the tip of Dodoria's index finger off with its three fangs. The red snake had two long silver wings and was a fast flyer before he had been destroyed.  
  
Jaden said nothing; she had been healed physically, but she was still dispirited from the tortures that she had endured earlier three days ago. She was anxious and sulky, and she had not said a word to anyone since she had emerged from the healing tanks. Frieza had forced her to accompany him and Balair and Dodoria to help find Chestra and Zarbon. She cursed mentally, as the metal band of her restraining collar rubbed painfully against her blue scales, pressing them into her flesh underneath. Her two tails were slightly torn at the inner sides, for earlier with her two appendages, she had squeezed to death two snakes of the same breed that had attacked Dodoria. Her proud Rybanese head was hung down, as she silently hoped that the hapless lovebirds had the good sense to flee Sime already.  
  
"Zarbon is going to pay dearly for this-for stealing my woman! How dare he?" Frieza roared, as he, Balair, Dodoria, and a collared Jaden stepped out of the ship on the muddy, mucky ground of planet Sime. "I will see that he dies a most wretched death for this! Balair, Dodoria, do you two pick up anything on your scouters?"  
  
"Not yet, sire," Dodoria admitted. "Tell me though, sire, is it really necessary to kill off Zarbon? You could just torture him until he agrees never to touch Chestra again; he has upset you, yes, but he would be very hard to replace."  
  
"All of my men and women are dispensable, Dodoria," Frieza reminded him coolly.  
  
"You just told us earlier, sire, that Jaden would be hard to replace-" Dodoria blurted out on the subject that he still strongly disagreed with his beloved master on.  
  
"I said hard, Dodoria, not impossible. And if Jaden doesn't behave herself, she will be joining Zarbon in the next dimension once I eradicate him. Balair, you have the best sense of smell out of all of us; your olfactory abilities are equivalent to a Saiyan's or better, so do you smell anything?"  
  
Balair sniffed the air with his superb Sistrai sense of smell; the Sistrai race and the Saiyan race had the best olfactory abilities in the Rosetta Galaxy, and both races could smell scents from dozens of miles away. The heinous Sistrai warrior grinned when he picked up a scent-a female scent.  
  
"Ah, a woman…" he purred. "Maybe this planet isn't a total wasteland, after all. It's been a while since I've had a woman…"  
  
"BALAIR!" Frieza screamed. "Can you for ten minutes think of anything besides sex? Forget your raging hormones and tell me what race or being the scent belongs to!"  
  
"Don't sweat it, Bali, almost all life has been eliminated from this planet anyway, and even you couldn't have mated with any of the Sime women," Dodoria pointed out.  
  
Balair sighed, and then he chuckled softly. "I recognize the scent alright; it's definitely female, very familiar. Hmmm…it smells like a female who had just made love to her man, a very intoxicating scent, but would be better if the male had been me." He turned to Frieza and chuckled a bit loudly, "Well, sire, I hate to say this, but that feminine scent happens to belong to Chestra; it's definitely her odor. Looks like Zarbon or some other man broke her in before you had a chance to. Pity, what a shame."  
  
"Broke her in? I bet anything that Zarbon mated with my woman, took her virginity which was meant to be mine!" Frieza hissed, his features twisted in an ugly mask of malice. "Balair, tell me you are lying-immediately!"  
  
With sweat beading on his red, scaly brow, Balair stammered nervously, "I wish I could say I was, sire, but it does smell like Chestra-and she just had sex with someone."  
  
"Curses, curses, curses!" Frieza roared. "I was going to be her first man; I should have been her first, and Zarbon dares to take what is rightfully mine! He has some nerve; I gave him everything, we grew up together, and I took him on as my head commander and right-hand man, and this is how he repays me! He could have picked one of the Ginyu Girls, but no, he has to take an untouched woman, a woman that I meant to have for myself!" He stomped on the ground, like an angry little boy.  
  
"Balair," he said finally, "do you know the direction of that scent, of Chestra's scent?"  
  
"That I do, sire," Balair said, a bit triumphantly.  
  
"Follow your nose, Balair, and find my woman! Jaden will remain here with me. Dodoria, you will go with Balair; find my woman!"  
  
"Do you still wish for us to spare Zarbon?" Dodoria asked.  
  
"For now, yes, just find them both, and capture them. Jadenia and I will remain here until you two find them. Jaden will learn what happens to those who defy me, and I will demonstrate that with Zarbon. Contact me on your scouters when you find the runaway lovebirds, and we will come wherever you two are at."  
  
"Yes, sire!" Balair and Dodoria told him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
At Zarbon's space pod…  
  
Zarbon had Chestra settled on his lap, as he desperately tried to start the engine on his space pod, so that he and his new love could flee before Frieza could find them. He was cursing and grumbling because the engine had just failed.  
  
Chestra looked about helplessly because she knew nothing about technology, and she could do nothing to help her mate, as Zarbon frantically tried to press any and every button that he could in hopes that the engine would somehow start up again, so that they could leave.  
  
Zarbon was panting, with sweat running down his handsome face, and then to his and his lover's relief, they both heard an engine whirring.  
  
Chestra cried out happily, "You did it, Zarbon, you did it!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, kissing him fervently on his lips.  
  
Zarbon laughed in relief, "Let's get out of here!" He pressed the button that would launch them into space, but before the pod could take off, a ki blast coming from nowhere hit the pod.  
  
Chestra shrieked when she looked through the small round window of the pod and saw Balair's familiar face, and she also noticed Dodoria with him. Both men began to bang on the silver pod, and Dodoria fired a ki blast at the pod's door. The door cracked open a bit, but it was still locked. Balair stepped close to the crack of the door.  
  
"Go away!" Zarbon ordered both minions. "This does not concern you!"  
  
Before Zarbon and Chestra could plan what to do next, a dusty, red mist flowed into the pod, and within seconds the mist solidified itself into Balair, who was now wedged between the lovers and the control panel. Chestra huddled closer to Zarbon, not wanting to be any closer to Balair than necessary.  
  
"Hello, Head Commander," Balair purred. "You and our little VR have a date with Lord Frieza. I suggest you both step out of the pod immediately."  
  
"And I suggest that you go to hell," Zarbon told his colleague coolly as possible.  
Balair snorted. "You don't have a chance right now, Zarbon, and you know it. Dodoria could easily blast this pod into fragments, so if you want to challenge us or whatever before we defeat you, we better step outside."  
  
Zarbon grumbled, "Very well, but you two gorillas will leave Chestra out of this." He shot Balair a look that could decimate planet Sime, and just for a moment, the normally arrogant Sistrai warrior flinched. Balair meekly vaporized himself again, and he floated through the crack of the pod door in his gas form. After easing Chestra off of his lap, Zarbon kicked the door open, almost fully prepared to fight Balair and Dodoria.  
  
Zarbon was about to launch himself at Balair, but Dodoria hit him hard in the back of his head with his right fist. It wasn't hard enough to make him pass out, and when a disappointed Dodoria tried to hit him again, he wound him punching himself in the face.  
  
Before Dodoria could stop himself, he inflicted blows onto his only body, his face, neck, and pudgy stomach. An unseen force was controlling his fist, as the fist, which seemed to have a mind of its own, repeatedly attacked its owner, socking him hard all over his corpulent, pink body.  
  
"Curse that Chestra!" Dodoria roared out loud. "I forgot about her blasted telekinesis! Stop it, woman, I command you!"  
  
Chestra slowly and determinedly stepped out of the damaged space probe, still keeping hold of Dodoria, as she used her mind to control Dodoria's fist. She tried to keep her mind focused on keeping Dodoria occupied with harming himself.  
  
Meanwhile, Zarbon and Balair were engaged in an all-out battle of fisticuffs, as Zarbon quickly managed to break Balair's arm, rendering Balair's vaporizing abilities useless. A furious Balair kicked Zarbon in his stomach, while Zarbon landed his fist in Balair's face. Balair whipped his tail across Zarbon's face, and Zarbon cried out in pain, for Balair's tail was as effective as a whip. He quickly recovered enough, however, to land a roundhouse kick onto Balair's jaw, breaking the jawbone. The Sistrai warrior snarled, as he shoved Zarbon to the ground, but Zarbon leapt back up and rammed his fist into Balair's yellow eye.  
  
Before Balair could retaliate, a sharp voice echoed throughout the cave. "That will be enough, Balair! He is mine to deal with now."  
  
Balair meekly released Zarbon and stepped away from him, as Zarbon gaped at the speaker in utter horror. Chestra grew so terrified that her concentration broke, allowing Dodoria to be free again. Dodoria would have given the girl the beating of her life if it had not been for this speaker's presence.  
  
"Frieza," Zarbon said as bravely as possible, even though he knew that he was about to meet his end.  
  
"Hello, Zarbon," Frieza told his head commander coolly, as he calmly stood in the shadows of the cave with his tail around Jaden's neck. His tail was holding Jaden's neck only loosely enough, so that it wasn't strangling her, but tight enough to where Jaden couldn't escape without the risk of Frieza strangling her on the spot. Jaden cursed the ki-restraining collar that kept her from using her abilities; she could not even shape-shift.  
  
"I'll tell you what, Zarbon," Frieza said evenly. "You let me have VR Chestra, and I will spare you, plus allow you to keep your position as my head commander. You can easily find another woman; I want VR Chestra for myself. I'll even find a nice young female for you to breed and mate with. You should be thankful for my mercy, Zarbon, had you been anyone else, I would have destroyed you on the spot. Now what do you say?"  
  
"I'm not letting you have Chestra," Zarbon told him as steadily as possible through gritted teeth. "Chestra does not wish to be with you."  
  
Chestra was pale and trembling, but she had to help her mate. Trying to keep a calm, steady tone, she said, "He's right, Frieza." She deliberately did not address him as "lord". "I don't love you, and I don't wish to be with you. I love Zarbon, and I've become his mate. You yourself can easily find someone else who would be willing to be with you. All you are doing is causing hurt and pain between you and Zarbon. Your relationship and friendship with him is too important for you to take a woman from him that he loves, that she loves in return."  
  
"She has a valid point there, Lord Frieza," Jaden dared to say, and she was rewarded with Frieza tightening his tail around her thick, collared neck. Jaden chortled and gasped for air, barely able to breathe.  
  
Frieza looked directly into Chestra's worried pale green eyes, the color of spring Earth grass. He smiled, a cool, deadly, silky smile that sent shivers down the spines of all of the cave's other occupants. "Chestra, my dear, why do you wish to waste your time with Zarbon? I am more powerful and stronger than he is, and there is so much more that I could give you that he couldn't. I've suspected that you've already lost your virginity to him, which disappoints me because I wanted to be your first man. Sadly, that can't be helped now, if that's what happened."  
  
"It did happen," Zarbon said. "I did take her."  
  
"He did," Chestra said calmly. "And I have no regrets about it."  
  
The entire cave became still, so still that a feather from a bird in the cave could be heard hitting the floor. Everyone was afraid of Frieza's reaction now, and they wondered just how long Chestra and Zarbon had to live. Frieza did not say a word, but his smile was gone. He slowly released Jaden and thrust her to the ground. Jaden wasted no time in scurrying away as far as possible from Frieza; she was not about to challenge him again at this point.  
  
"Zarbon," Frieza said evenly, calmly. "I should blast you into green fragments on the spot for taking what should have been mine to claim. However, I am going to offer you a chance to have her, since you've already deflowered her. I still want her, make no mistake, and if you lose, she's mine forever. You and I will go outside of this cave and fight. I will fight at my full strength, and so will you in your transformed state. You won't defeat me, of course, but if you can last ninety minutes with me at my full strength, I will let you have Chestra, and I will never bother her again as a potential concubine or mate. But if you die, or are so severely wounded that you can't fight anymore, or if you give up, she's mine. Sound fair?"  
  
"Don't do it, Zarbon!" Jaden ordered. "It's a trick. No one has ever lasted more than half an hour with him at full strength and lived to tell about it!"  
  
"Zarbon, there has to be another way," Chestra protested.  
  
"He's toast," Balair said bluntly.  
  
"Zarbon, you may as well as surrender Chestra to him now while you've still got a body to breathe in," Dodoria told him. "No girl's worth it. You can find someone else."  
  
"Chestra's more than worth it," Zarbon told Dodoria calmly. He then took a deep gulp of breath and looked directly into Frieza's eyes and said, "I will agree to your terms, provided that you keep your word."  
  
"You know that I will, Zarbon," Frieza told him, smiling his deadly smile once again. "I will be outside waiting for you. You better transform before you live this cave, for I will be in my second form. See you in ten minutes." And with that, Frieza levitated gracefully out of the cavern.   
  
Jaden walked over to Zarbon and told him roughly, "You've got guts, Zarbon, I'll give you that, but you've just made yourself an appointment with Enma Daiou. Frieza does not play fair, you know that."  
  
"Shut up, Jaden!" Dodoria snarled. "Don't you dare insult our liege like that!"  
Chestra was relieved to see that Jaden was alive, but scared now for Zarbon. "Jaden, are you okay?"  
  
"Other than this cursed collar, yeah. Other than knowing that your boyfriend's about to become a crispy critter, yeah. Other than Bali and Dodo still being alive, yeah. Other than-"  
  
"Jaden, I've think that you've made your point. I am sorry that Chestra and I were not able to help you," Zarbon told her.  
  
"Don't worry about it; at least you two got to get some from each other before your impending death. Hope it was good for you two. If you don't last, what do you want written on you gravestone?"  
  
"Don't talk about dying yet, Jaden. Wish me some luck because I'm going to need all that I can get."  
  
Chestra hurried over to Zarbon and kissed him deeply, fervently on his lips. "I wish you luck, all the luck that I can wish, my love," she whispered, as she kissed him again. Zarbon wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back just as hard and firm.   
  
This went on for about three minutes until Jaden spoke up, "Um, excuse me, lovebirds. Zarbon's got to transform, and Zarbon, I suggest that you start now. Chestra, I hope that you've already seen Zarbon in his ugly state 'cause it's not a pretty sight."  
  
"I have," Chestra told her friend quietly. "And it does not matter to me."  
  
Zarbon released his new love, and he walked away from everyone to an open space in the cavern to begin his hideous transformation.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
On planet Ice in King Cold's bedroom…  
  
King Cold was lounging in bed with two of his most favored concubines, Izri and Cana. Izri was a cat-alien (from the near-extinct Hemitor race, which King Cold had eradicated ten years ago) who had saffron-colored fur and long dark blue hair on her head that came down to her waist. Her kitten face was exquisite with a cute, little pink cat nose and large glowing green eyes. Her rosebud lips were pouty and succulent, and King Cold couldn't stop kissing them, as he stroked her silky body leisurely with his right hand, as she lay in right arm.   
  
The humanoid woman, the long-necked Cana, who was a Cara woman from the Cara race of planet Cara-Camay, was resting in the crook of King Cold's left arm, her soft, cotton-candy pink hair brushing against King Cold's shoulder. She was tall and willowy with the pink hair and deep violet eyes that King Cold greatly admired.   
  
Cana and Izri were among King Cold's favorite women next to his third wife, Caldair, his current favorite wife, who was Cana's older half-Gemstarian and half-Cara cousin. Caldair was the mother of King Cold's favorite daughter, Snowflake, a fourteen-year-old girl who had the potential to one day become as strong as Frieza. Caldair herself had long fire-red hair with gold-highlights, clear snowy skin, the Cara long neck and velvety violet eyes, and the Gemstarian crystal blue teeth, peach-blue skin, and poisonous diamond nails (which she had only used twice in her life as weapons). Caldair was a fine warrior in her own right, although she had not fought in any real battles since King Cold had made her his wife ten years ago. She was King Cold's favorite woman, and he hated the one Cara trait that made her have a two-week menstrual period (common with Cara women, who could easily live on only one-quarter of the blood that they carried in their bodies at a time). He loved her because she was brave, caring, passionate, and very unselfish; she was completely understanding of King Cold's immense sexual appetite, and she enjoyed being with him and loving him. She never objected to the other women that her husband slept with, as long as she remained one of his favorites, and that the other women made him happy. It was she who had recommended Cana to him when she had been unable to have sex with him for a long time years ago due to a severe illness. King Cold was mentally counting the days until he could be with her again.  
  
He had his two other wives, Cicada and Sequoia, with Cicada being his current queen and from his own race, but he only liked them, not really loved them the way that he did Caldair. Queen Cicada (whom King Cold had married ten years after the first queen, Queen Frost, had been destroyed) was a gracious woman, but reclusive and aloof, only coming out to play in her private concerts with her excellent singing and musical abilities. She and her husband rarely saw each other, which suited them fine, as Cicada was barren and unable to bear children after their one son, Frigidar, died as an infant under mysterious circumstances when the baby boy had sickened quickly and succumbed to death. Giving birth to Frigidar had rendered Cicada barren. Cicada suspected that Frieza had a part in her son's demise (which she was right), but she couldn't prove it. Cicada had become a hermit since her son's death many decades ago. She and King Cold had only slept together five times over the past sixty years or so since their son's untimely demise.  
  
The humanoid woman, Sequoia, a strawberry blonde with maroon eyes from the Camay race of planet Cara-Camay did all of the queenly duties that should have been Cicada's to handle, and she did them well, almost to the point of driving her subordinates mad. She was a perfectionist with a sharp tongue, and the main reason that King Cold had married her was because of her superb business and organizational abilities. She managed and ran all of King Cold's businesses under his supervision, and she helped to plan missions and determine which planets could be conquered and which ones should be left alone. She had unsuccessfully tried to convince King Cold to talk Frieza out of leaving planet Astoria alone, for she had decided after the infamous Battle of Chloe, that Astoria was not worth risking people's lives for. She was also the one who had convinced King Cold and his sons by Queen Frost that an intergalactic spy system would prove useful to them in finding new recruits and learning about new planets. That plan had been her most brilliant and successful one yet.  
  
Unfortunately, Sequoia's prowess in business and organizational skills did not extend to the bedroom, and she was a cold and unsatisfactory sexual partner because she thought that sex was a waste of valuable time. She had only slept with her husband eleven times since their marriage fifteen years ago, and the less her husband wanted sex, the better it was for her. Sequoia was not much to look at anyway; her blond hair and maroon eyes did not enhance her looks, and she had the giant Camayan ears, which were the size and shape of CDs, which King Cold did not think helped her looks any.  
  
Ah, when would Caldair be off her period? Until she was, he would have to satisfy himself with Cana and Izri, who did manage to please him almost, but not quite as well as his favorite wife.  
  
He lay with his two women in his gold-plated whilver bed with gold sheets and covers. He heard a buzz on the intercom on his whilver nightstand next to his bed.  
  
"Cana, answer that please," King Cold said in a bored tone.  
  
Cana pressed a blue button on the intercom, and a squeaky voice echoed through the speaker. "Sire, are you there?"  
  
"Renyou, I told you never to interrupt me when I have company," King Cold said edgily. "Is this something that can wait?"  
  
"You told me to inform you the minute that I got the test results back on VR Chestra's DNA sample, Your Majesty."  
  
"Very well, Renyou, I was waiting for those," King Cold said in a calmer tone. "Now what are the results?"  
  
Renyou told him everything, what race Chestra was, whether she was mating-compatible with him or not, whether she could bear him children or not, and some background information that greatly interested the King of the Cold Empire-and disappointed him.  
  
"Ah," King Cold sighed. "So I can't make her one of my women then. I can't say I'm not disappointed; I really wanted this one too; she seemed to be so much like Caldair and so feisty too. I'll have to tell my son this right away, for he wanted the girl for himself. Thank you, Renyou, now is there anything else? I have to leave right away."  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty, on a happier note, Lady Caldair is off her menstrual period, and she hopes to be with you soon."  
  
King Cold allowed himself to smile then. "Good, well it will be much easier to get over VR Chestra then; at least I can mate with Caldair again. Goodbye for now, Renyou." He leaned over Cana and turned off the intercom. He then told his two girls, "Cana, Izri, I am sorry to cut things short, but I have to leave immediately; this new development about VR Chestra is something that I must inform my son about at once."  
  
"Have a good journey, Your Majesty," Cana told her mate cheerfully.  
  
"Farewell," Izri told him, with a bit of tightness in her voice. She was immensely jealous of King Cold's other women, and she had not been happy when King Cold announced that he planned to add the strange recruit named Chestra to his harem. Izri desperately wanted to become King Cold's fourth wife and replace Lady Caldair in his affections. She was glad that Chestra would not be joining King Cold's harem, ever.  
  
King Cold arose from his bed, and he headed to his shower. Cana was basking in the afterglow, and Izri was sulking because Lady Caldair was off her blasted period, which meant that King Cold would once again turn all of his attention to his favored third wife.  
  
"Curse your cousin for going off of her period!" Izri hissed after King Cold turned on his shower. "He'll forget we exist once he goes to her bed again."  
  
"Izri, stop it," Cana commanded furiously. "I know that your race is used to two-partner-only relationships, but you will have to accept the fact that King Cold has numerous other women that he needs to keep happy. And do not malign my cousin; she is a good woman and our king's favorite."  
  
"Someday, I will become his fourth wife, if it's the last thing that I do," Izri snarled.  
  
"Not if you keep up your foul temper, you won't," Cana replied, as she dug around for her slip. "He must be so disappointed about VR Chestra. I saw her with Head Commander Zarbon, and she seems like a nice young woman; Lord Frieza's Head Commander is fascinated with her, it seems, but he wouldn't have had a chance if Renyou hadn't made his announcement. Now neither Lord Frieza nor King Cold can have her. Sad, but it seems that Our Majesty's son will suffer more than his father will over it."  
  
"We'll see," Izri grumbled, as she dug around for her robe. "At any rate, I'm glad that she's not coming to live here."  
  
Cana was glad too-for VR Chestra's sake, because Izri could be a vicious, dangerous woman whenever her jealousy flared. 


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Revelations

Chapter Seventeen: Revelations  
  
An hour and twenty minutes later…  
  
Zarbon and Frieza had been fighting fiercely for the last eighty minutes, with Frieza in his second form and Zarbon in his transformed state. Zarbon had lasted much longer than anyone had expected, and even Frieza, angry with Zarbon as he was, had been impressed. Zarbon was in his monster state, but even with the impressive, increased strength in his advanced state, he was no match for Frieza. However, he only had to last ten more minutes (according to Dodoria's watch, the official timepiece) before the fight was officially over. Frieza had said ninety minutes, but Zarbon knew as well as anyone that Frieza did not always play fair. When Frieza wanted something or someone badly enough, he would do whatever he had to do to get it, even if it meant someone else getting hurt or killed.  
  
He was hanging on by a thread, as they would say on planet Earth, and he knew it. He was not sure, if he could take much more of Frieza's abuse. But he had to do it for Chestra; he could not let her wind up in Frieza's clutches.  
  
Frieza had been absolutely mercilessly, repeatedly landing blows and ki attacks upon the hapless head commander, although Zarbon himself had managed to land in a few good blows and break the tip of Frieza's long tail. But Frieza had held the upper hand the entire time, and Zarbon and everyone else knew it. He took quick glances at his fellow officers, seeing the stunned and shocked faces of Jaden and Dodoria, the terrified, anxious expression of Chestra's face, and the small, devious smirk of Balair's on his face. Zarbon could barely breathe now, and he so desperately wanted to pass out and give into the blackness threatening to swallow him whole, the cool, dark void that would relieve his pain.  
  
Frieza held his opponent in the air by his throat. He sneered when he saw Zarbon's monster face bloodied, bruised, and broken. Zarbon had a gigantic egg-shaped lump on his left eye, and blue blood was flowing steadily from his mouth. His nose was broken and crooked, and blood was cascading down from it as well, dribbling into his swollen mouth, and coating his lips. Zarbon's other eye was swollen shut, and there was a large purple patch of bruise covering it. His soft, beautiful emerald tresses were tangled, torn, and disheveled.  
  
And Frieza would not show him any mercy, even though it was obvious to anyone watching that Zarbon was near death.  
  
Jaden, who rarely ever spoke for anyone else in Frieza's forces, finally had enough. "Alright, Lord Frieza, you've made your point to Zarbon! He's had enough; he's more than learned his lesson. Let him go now; you won't be able to replace him so easily."  
  
Frieza glared at his only female Top Elite officer. "I can replace anyone that I wish, Jaden, including you. No one is indispensable here; anyone can easily be replaced. All of you are pawns, and I am the player; remember that."  
  
Dodoria and Balair were similarly shocked by the damage that Frieza had done to their Head Commander. At first they had enjoyed watching the fight, and Balair had been secretly hoping that Frieza would kill off that glorified dandyish fop that Chestra seemed to like so much. But now that Zarbon was about to die, Balair realized that if Zarbon died, Frieza would definitely have Chestra for himself. Balair trembled, for he knew that he would have no chance against Frieza himself, if he wanted to fight his lord for Chestra. Frieza's lungs were resistant to Balair's vaporizing attacks, and Frieza could kill him before the Sistrai warrior had finished vaporizing.  
  
Balair gulped; not only would he not be able to bed Chestra, he would lose his bet to Ginyu and have to wear a dress and perform that freakish Dance of Love, risking his life in front of Frieza and his father.  
  
Jaden would just love to see him humiliated like that; if he was lucky, however, maybe he could kill her before the Biannual Full Staff, Meeting, Fair and Banquet. Maybe...  
  
Dodoria rasped, "Sire..."  
  
"Don't be a fool, Dodoria," Frieza told him sharply. "Zarbon, this pretty boy Head Commander of mine is not worth sparing."  
  
"That I agree with," Balair whispered wholeheartedly, and Jaden growled when she heard him with her excellent Rybanese hearing.   
  
Frieza glared into Zarbon's now-disfigured face. "I am going to arrange your face before your death, Zarbon, so that not even Chestra will want to kiss it."  
  
Zarbon said defiantly, for he figured that Frieza was going to destroy him anyway, "It will not matter to her!"  
  
Frieza laughed cruelly. "And how do you figure that?"  
  
Zarbon wheezed, blood still flowing from his swollen mouth, "She saw me when I transformed into my strongest form when I was sparring with Dodoria one time. She saw me in my ugliest moment, and she still loves me. She still wants me."  
  
Frieza smirked. "How nice that she sees you for more than the pretty boy beast that you are, Zarbon, but it won't matter. She is mine, and what I want, I get. You should know that by now, Zarbon. Only one can have her, and that will be me. She is beautiful, brave, and bold, and she will please me in my bed night after night. She's young, but not too young. I can hear her moaning my name now. Chestra is perfect for me, a woman who will someday bear me a strong son to rule in my stead..."  
  
Zarbon hissed, "If that ever happens, may that son rise to kill you!"  
  
Frieza rewarded Zarbon for his curse by slamming him into the ground hard. He then moved in front of Zarbon in a flash, and he coiled his tail around Zarbon before he could escape. Frieza stood up proudly, evilly, as his tail tightened around Zarbon's throat and torso.  
  
"Any last words, Zarbon? Any special messages that you would like me to deliver to my little Chestra?" Frieza purred.  
  
Zarbon tried to speak, but his usually smooth tongue failed him. His tongue simply refused to move, for its owner was too terrified now to speak a word.  
  
Frieza chuckled softly, as the others watched on with a mix of horror and fascination. Zarbon, through his agony, noticed a spark of pity in Jaden's eyes on her usual unfeeling face. He knew that she and Chestra had become close. Ah, at least Chestra wouldn't be entirely alone when he perished, that was if Frieza allowed Jaden to live...  
  
*Forgive me, Chestra, for failing you, for not being able to protect you, like I promised that I would...*  
  
"ENOUGH, LORD FRIEZA! LET HIM GO!"  
  
The three Top Elite Officers whipped around quickly to see an agonized Chestra standing behind them, shaking. Jaden had never seen the usual cool and collected recruit so shaken and horrified.  
  
Chestra did not acknowledge any of them, not even Jaden, her closest friend. She called out to Frieza, "Lord Frieza, let him go, and I mean it! Don't you hurt him anymore!" Her facial features danced together in a mix of fear and anger.  
  
Frieza turned towards Chestra, with his tail wrapped around Zarbon. He grinned at her. "Ah, Chestra, I am glad that you were watching. Now you get to see the weakling that Zarbon The Pretty Boy really is!"  
  
Chestra growled, her jade green eyes darkening to such a dark shade of hunter green that they were almost black. "Release him now! He cannot fight you back! Let him go! I won't let you hurt him!" She balled up her fists, and she crouched in an offensive position. The tiny fighter knew that she had a better chance of seeing Jaden and Balair marry each other than her defeating Frieza, but she would not let him hurt the only man that she had truly come to love.  
  
Frieza narrowed his eyes at her. "You dare to challenge me, little girl? I hate to hurt you, Chestra, dear, since I do plan to take you as my mate."  
  
Chestra hissed, "I am not becoming your mate, Lord Frieza! I thought that things would be different here, but here I am facing the same situation as before! You are no better than some of my past masters! I am not going to become your new toy, and if you want to fail me, or even kill me, fine! At least I will die with some dignity. You are not going to touch me, and if I live, I will choose my own mate, my own man. You may be the mightiest warlord in the universe, but even you cannot change or control a woman's heart! You will not taking me against my will, nor will you hurt Zarbon! Let him go! If you want to bully someone today, then face me! I am not as strong as Zarbon yet, but I can give you a good fight before you destroy me! You will release Zarbon and fight me if you want to hurt someone!"  
  
Jaden, Balair, and Dodoria all stared at her with their jaws nearly reaching the ground. None of them would have had that much nerve to mouth off to Frieza like that, not even Jaden, the most smart-mouthed and defiant of the Top Elite officers. The three Top Elite officers wondered how much longer Chestra had to live. Jaden, with her mouth still wide open in shock, shook her head in pity; Chestra was one of the few real friends that she had in her life, and she was going to miss the unusual girl.  
  
Balair, with his jaw dangling in mid-air, moaned, for he was certain that Frieza would disintegrate Chestra on the spot before Balair had a chance to get her into bed. What a waste of a fine wench and virginal delights, delights that Balair had hoped that he would be the first to sample. He hated Zarbon had beaten him to that pleasure before him. Curse that pretty boy fop!  
  
Dodoria just hung there with his fat jaws swinging back and forth, thinking nothing, and saying nothing. When he was finally able to form a conscious thought, he thought that killing the girl off would be a waste, but Frieza was in charge here, not this little brat. He had liked the girl, but Frieza was his liege and lord (and potential lover someday?), and no one talked to the changeling of his dreams that way!  
  
He was the first to close his mouth and open it again to snarl at Chestra, "How dare you speak to Lord Frieza that way! I don't see why he would want a disrespectful little girl like you when he could have someone mature and handsome and manly like me!"  
  
Jaden's and Balair's jaws dropped even further when they heard Dodoria's words. Frieza's jaw had also dropped down to the middle of his chest. Zarbon's damaged eyes bulged as wide as they could at his colleague's words, and Chestra stared at Dodoria as well.  
  
Jaden was the first to speak. "Dodoria, did you just happen to admit that you have the hots for Lord Frieza?"  
  
Balair groaned, "Dodi, please, please don't tell me that you think of Lord Frieza in that way--please tell me you were kidding, please..."  
  
Jaden quipped, "Bali, that's the first time that I ever heard you say 'please'! Makes me wonder if your lust for Chestra has gone to what little brain that you do possess! Perhaps Dodoria's thing for Frieza is affecting his mind as well."  
  
Dodoria and Balair both turned on Jaden then. They both shouted in unison, "Jaden, you can go to hell!"  
  
"Excuse me, gentlemen, but must you use such language?" A masculine, cultured voice similar to an English accent interrupted them at that moment.  
  
Frieza's jaw dropped even wider. "Father! What are you doing here?"  
  
The other officers wanted to know that answer as well.  
  
King Cold ordered his son, "Frieza, let Zarbon go--and let him have Chestra, if he so desires her."  
  
All three Top Elite Officers fell over backwards, with Dodoria hitting his head hard on a rock.   
  
However, since Dodoria was hardheaded, it did not affect him. Dodoria decided that now would be a good time to flee, for he had not meant to blurt out his desire for Frieza the way that he did. He was eternally thankful to King Cold for showing up. The fat, pink, spiky-headed minion ran away as fast as a monster with his girth could. No one noticed or cared that he left.  
  
Frieza, after recovering from the shock of his father's sentence, narrowed his eyes and said edgily, "No way, Father. Chestra is mine, and I will destroy him for intervening. I know that you desire her as well, and don't think that I won't hesitate to challenge you as well."  
  
King Cold ignored his son's threat for now. He turned to Jaden and Balair. "I order you two to leave immediately. I have a private matter to discuss with my son."  
  
Balair didn't think twice. He scuttled away as fast as he could, and he blasted off into the air like a rocket. Jaden was uncertain, as to whether to leave Chestra alone with the two most dangerous men in the universe, or to risk certain death at King Cold's hands. Rising to her feet, she looked at King Cold and dared to speak in an unusually shaky tone:  
  
"Should I take Chestra back with me?"  
  
King Cold glowered at Frieza's only female Top Elite officer. "Have Chestra retrieve her Zarbon from Frieza, and then all three of you will leave. This matter is between Frieza and I alone. Go."  
  
Chestra didn't hesitate to rescue a dying Zarbon from a stunned Frieza, who by then had unwrapped his tail from his opponent's body. Chestra gently lifted Zarbon onto her shoulder, holding him close.  
  
"Don't worry," she whispered. "I will take care of you."  
  
Zarbon only moaned in response.  
  
Jaden called to Chestra, "C'mon, let's go!" She was already hovering in the air. Chestra slowly rose into the air with Zarbon on her shoulder. Zarbon had his one good arm looped around her small waist. Within minutes, they left for the Medical Section of Frieza's mother ship to put Zarbon in one of the rejuvenation tanks.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
When Frieza and King Cold were alone, Frieza sneered nastily, "So, Father, you wish to fight me for Chestra as well."  
  
"No, son," King Cold told him evenly. "Neither one of us will have her, and neither one of us can have her. We both must forget the girl, and it is a pity, for it has been a long time that I had a virgin. Ah, I can remember the last virgin that I had that, a lovely little Gemstarian girl with such eyes, the eyes that were like--"  
  
"She's not a virgin anymore, father! Zarbon deflowered her before either one of us had the chance!" Frieza wailed like a little boy.  
  
"WHAT?" King Cold cried out indignantly. "Well, never mind, it don't matter now, since we couldn't have bedded her ourselves anyway."  
  
"Father, please," Frieza scoffed. "Why can't I have Chestra? I want her, Father, and I don't care what you say! I will make her mine!"  
  
King Cold frowned darkly at his son. "You want to mate with her, go ahead, but you'll be mating with your own daughter!"  
  
Frieza himself fell over backwards just then. He slowly raised his horned head and moaned, "My-my daughter? I have no offspring that I know of--surely, the women that I had been with would have told me."  
  
"Not if they didn't want you to know. Not if you had taken one of them against their will. Do you remember that favorite little concubine that I gave you for a birthday present, from that planet that we managed to enslave."  
  
Frieza grinned then. "Ah, yes, I do remember. Taurelia, her name was, a lovely cat-woman, with both humanoid and catlike features. Such a lovely long, swishy tail that I would caress and kiss for hours. Such beautiful ruby hair! She was from planet Catzini, a half-Catzin, half-Astorian girl. It was strange that I was so taken at that time with a woman who had enemy blood. She was proven to have Astorian blood, Father, according to her DNA tests, but she didn't have the Astorian ability to electrocute people, although she had the immunity to electricity. Normally, I couldn't have mated with any woman with humanoid blood, Father, because of the mating incompatibility, but her mammalian traits made mating possible. Ah, she was a virgin, as well, the first virgin that I ever had...so wonderful being her first man...even though she fought me and swore that she hated me. She claimed that I raped her, when I knew that she had wanted me from the start!" And then Frieza's face twisted into an ugly mask of hatred.   
  
"She escaped from me one night and fled away to Kami only knew where. I never saw her again, but to teach her a lesson, I blew up her entire planet! That surely taught the little witch to refuse the great Lord Frieza!"  
  
King Cold told his son quietly, "Do you not notice what a strong resemblance that Chestra has to Taurelia, same features and body structure, except that Chestra's hair is divided into colors, and her eyes are green, not crystal blue like Taurelia's were? I remember the men who had captured her planet saying that Taurelia's father, who is Chestra's grandfather, was a Prince of Chloe, the Prince Aurelion, former Intergalacticpol officer."  
  
Frieza shuddered then. "No, no, I could not have lusted after my own daughter! Not even our race commits incest, Father! How did you discover this information anyway?"  
  
King Cold sighed, "I was planning on making her mine, but I wanted to know if she could give me children, so I had some of your lab technicians remove hair samples and skin cells from her bedcovers when she was out training with Zarbon--"--King Cold ignored his son growling at the mention of Zarbon's name--"and I had them run DNA samples on her hair and skin cells, and the head technician informed me that her DNA was similar to mine. We tested her DNA again, along with yours, Coola's, and mine and there is a ninety-nine point ninety-eight percent chance that she is your daughter. She wasn't Coola's or mine, and her DNA is closest to yours. And we are for certain that Taurelia was her mother, thanks to some old DNA samples of hers. Now why Taurelia abandoned her daughter is a question that we'll never have the answer to. So congratulations, son, you're a daddy." King Cold couldn't help chuckling at that sentence, and Frieza glowered at his father.  
  
"Just great! You mean I challenged that pretty boy head commander of mine for my own daughter? I finally find a woman that I want to keep permanently, and she turns out to be my child, a child with Astorian blood, something that I'm not happy about, but nevertheless she's mine! What next--Jaden saying that she's in love with me?"  
  
King Cold smirked, for he had heard Dodoria's accidental confession of desire for his son. He wisely decided, however, that his son was having a bad enough time as it was, so he decided not to tease Frieza about it.  
  
Frieza groaned, "What are we going to do? Should we tell her the truth?"  
  
King Cold said thoughtfully, tapping his cheek, "Perhaps, we should, for as far as we know, she is your only child. She would be the heiress to the Cold Empire, if something happens to you and Coola, who is the first heir, and while I would prefer a male heir, she would be strong and fierce enough to run it. She is technically, a princess, a future queen, possibly. But I can think of more compelling reasons as to why we shouldn't tell her."  
  
"Such as?" Frieza wanted to know. "I do have an heir now, Father, albeit a female one, but an heir none the less. Ah, what a pity, for I did want her so badly, and now I can't even look at her with lust. This will take some getting used to."  
  
"And a few cold showers," King Cold quipped. "Believe me, son, I've had to take at least five of those earlier. Getting back to the subject, there are several reasons why we can never let Chestra know of her true heritage. Coola would try to kill her off, and he has no children yet that I know of. If he dies before producing an heir, the Cold Empire will go to you--provided that you were not the one to murder your brother--and then it would go to your Chestra. Second, I know that the other Top Elite officers are vying for your position, and they will believe that you intend to give it to Chestra, whether you intend to or not. For anytime that you did a favor for Chestra, the others would give her a hard time because they think that you did it out of nepotism. Remember the hard time that some of your soldiers gave Ginyu when you first promoted him to Top Elite and gave him his own force? Some still think that he's only there because he's your cousin. Some may even try to kill her, and then you do have many enemies yet, son, who would use her to get to you. It is far better for all of us concerned that Chestra does not know of her heritage until we either a) both die, or b) Coola dies without an heir, or c) Coola gains an heir. I have a few trusted officials that can tell her about her heritage should both of us perish--and yes, son, someday, we will both die, whether we like it or not."  
  
"So that's it?" Frieza fumed. "We leave her alone and let that pretty boy take her as his mate? I can and will forbid him from having her; I can still kill him!"  
  
"You will not kill him!" King Cold ordered his son sternly. "Regaining your Head Commander's goodwill will strengthen his loyalty and the loyalty of your other subordinates. Do not allow your pride to guide you son; use common sense. And if and when Chestra does learn of her heritage, she will think fondly of you for thinking of her happiness. She is your daughter, son."  
  
Frieza growled and stamped his feet like a chastised little boy, signs that he was yielding the argument to his father. "Very well, the fop can have her! I can easily find another woman to please me, although virgins are hard to find these days anywhere in the universe! He better treat her right, however, or I will break his effete neck--"  
  
King Cold chuckled. "Now that sounds like a father! A father wanting to protect his daughter, how touching! I feel the same way about my sweet little girl, Snowflake, such a darling that my favorite wife, my third wife, Caldair, gave me! She could become as strong as Chestra someday you know, and perhaps you and Coola will have a strong sibling to stand by you..."  
  
Frieza secretly gnashed his teeth in angry jealousy. He had had Balair examine Snowflake for her power level last week, and when he realized that Snowflake was strong enough and wise enough to try to take Frieza's empire from him someday, he had been furious. He had planned to do something about Snowflake once he had finished his business about Chestra. He hated that his father continued to have more children, children that could someday become as strong as Frieza and Coola themselves. In fact he hated that fact so much, that he occasionally had his half-siblings killed off from time to time, along with their mothers, if the women involved had any chance of producing more strong children. Coola himself also had a few of their half-siblings assassinated, when their ki levels proved to be high enough to be a threat. Both Frieza and Coola secretly feared that any of their half-siblings could rise up one day and destroy them to take the throne to the Cold Empire.  
  
King Cold had never suspected that his sons would dare to have the nerve to kill off their own family members, although both Caldair and Sequoia had voiced their suspicions to their husband many times. Neither one of the two wives mentioned trusted Coola or Frieza. Caldair especially didn't, as she feared for her daughter's life because of her two oldest stepsons.  
  
Frieza grinned to himself; he had one advantage now over his perfect older brother: he, Frieza, had a child, an heir, something that Coola did not have. And while he could never publicly acknowledge Chestra's paternity, not even to her, or even treat her any differently from the others, he could see that she was protected and allowed to advance in his army. He didn't like the possibility that any children that she would produce would likely have Zarbon's genes in them, but to become a grandfather would be...interesting.  
  
He wasn't enthused about Chestra's Astorian blood, but that couldn't be helped; it wasn't Chestra's fault that her grandfather had to be an Astorian Prince of Chloe, and Chestra was really only one-quarter Astorian anyway. Frieza had seen Chestra's royal Astorian grandfather, Prince Aurelion, father of Taurelia, as one of King Cold's captives before King Cold had Aurelion executed. Aurelion had been a former Intergalacticpol (intergalactic police) officer before he had been captured when King Cold had enslaved the people of planet Catzini. Aurelion had been near the top of King Cold's hit list, and Aurelion had fallen in love with Taurelia's mother and moved to planet Catzini. Now Taurelia, whom no one knew whether or not was alive or dead, and her family, was gone. Catzini no longer existed, and all of Chestra's Catzin relatives had perished. But Chestra's Astorian relatives were still alive and thriving, much to Frieza's extreme dissatisfaction.  
  
Chestra was his daughter, HIS, and Frieza would see to it that she would one day learn of her heritage, but she would never know that she was part Astorian. It was better that way; he didn't want his only daughter, his only child that he knew of siding with her Astorian kin. He didn't see anything really Astorian or Clan of Chloe about her anyway, except for her regal manners and sentimentality. She would never need to know the truth.  
  
He could not acknowledge her as his, or even treat her any differently than before, outside of not touching her, but he could see that she was cared for.  
  
He'd let that fancy-pants pretty boy fop have her, but Zarbon had better treat her right or else!  
  
King Cold's scouter beeped, and he pressed a button on it, hearing a woman's smooth purring through the device. "Caldi, darling, what is it? Yes, I've heard that you're off your period, and you have no idea how happy that makes me! No, really, you don't. You have a little 'private party' planned for us? Ahh...that just makes my day, my love. No, my love, I really don't have anything important to do other than come home to you. I just had this little family matter that I had to discuss with my son, Frieza, but it's done with now. I'm coming home, my love, Daddy's coming home!"  
  
Frieza openly gagged in disgust at King Cold sweet-talking his third wife. His father ignored him.  
  
King Cold said with an embarrassed grin, "Well, son, it's time I was off! My sweet little Caldi's finally off her period, so I'll be occupied for a while! Contact my head commander, Brutu, if you need me, other than that, I'll be busy for a while. Farewell!" And with that, King Cold burst off into the air and flew back towards his ship.  
  
Frieza retched, thoroughly disgusted with his father and his active sex life. Why was it his father could have almost any woman he wanted, and he, Frieza, had to wind up pursuing his own daughter? This really had been a lousy day! The deadly warlord made a mental note to go ahead and buy that "comfort planet", Algor, which held a myriad of exotic whorehouses and brothels. He did need some comfort after all of this mess. Ah, well, time to get the grittier business out of the way.  
  
He called through his scouter, "Balair, please take this urgent message to Head Commander Zarbon immediately. Yes, he is still going to be my Head Commander, and yes, I will allow him to live. No, I don't know anything about Dodoria wanting to jump my bones, as you so disgustingly put it! I hope that Dodoria doesn't view me that way...Ugh! Anyway, tell Zarbon that Chestra is his, but he better treat her right, or I will vaporize him, and no, Balair, I am not giving you the pleasure of letting you vaporize him yourself..." 


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Diamonique Won't Give ...

Chapter Eighteen: Diamonique Won't Give Up Yet  
  
Six months later on Frieza's mother ship…  
  
Frieza had speeded up the date of Chestra's Final Evaluation. He and Zarbon had mutually agreed that she was ready to be inducted early. It had taken a long time for Frieza to repair the damage that he had done emotionally to Zarbon and Chestra and Jaden. He was usually a leader without much conscience, and what conscience he did have, he had stretched to the limit, trying for once in his life to make things right again with Chestra and Zarbon and Jaden. He was still a cruel tyrant, and he still killed without reason, but he had become more benevolent as of late to the three minions that he had previously terrorized. While he had never officially apologized for his vile behavior, Chestra, Zarbon, and Jaden knew that Frieza leaving them alone in peace was his way of making things up to them, and that was the best that they would get out of him. He had coolly given his blessing for Chestra and Zarbon to be together, and he had freed Jaden of her ki-restraining collar. He had even tolerated Chestra and Zarbon bringing their love affair out into the open, and no one dared to say a word to him about making an exception for Zarbon as far as the rule forbidding sexual or romantic relationships with trainees went.   
  
Life went back to normal, well as normal as things could get under a cruel, heinous warlord who was still bent on ruling the universe one day. For many planets throughout the universe, the past six months had been a time of terror and chaos, but for Chestra, Zarbon, and Jaden, things were fairly peaceful, except of course for the assignments that they went on for planet-clearing. Chestra, still being a recruit at the time, would accompany either Jaden or Zarbon in clearing a planet, and she was becoming as adept at it as they were.   
  
Whenever, she and Zarbon went on a mission together, they would use the purging missions as mini-vacations to spend time alone together. She and Zarbon were as close to each other as ever, having very rare arguments, but always making up quickly. Zarbon taught her many things in bed, things that Chestra never knew were possible to do with a man. He was training her to become an excellent lover, as well as a superb warrior, and there were very few acts in bed that appeared to be unnatural or repulsive to her.  
  
Meanwhile, Jaden, who had been allowed to keep her position as a Fourth Lieutenant Top Elite Officer, was back to her old self, hanging out with Chestra, ribbing Chestra and Zarbon about their fiery romance, and giving Balair and Dodoria a hard time as usual. She threw it in Balair's and Dodoria's faces every chance that she got about her being allowed to live and keep her Top Elite status. Balair and Dodoria hated her as much as ever, but there was nothing that they could do to her right now, for Frieza had ordered both angry men to leave Jaden alone, and that was also something that Jaden loved to rub in their ugly faces.  
  
King Cold was ecstatic to be mating with his third wife, Caldair, again, and she had not had a period since that last one that had halted their sex life temporarily. Why? Because Caldair had conceived her second child with her husband shortly after their active sex life resumed, and she was due to give birth any day now to a son (much to the chagrin of Frieza, who did not want his father to have any more children). Caldair, being of the Cara Tribe of planet Cara-Camay, had a gestation period of only six months, and King Cold had stayed at home on Ice with her just in case she gave birth while he was away.  
  
Balair and Captain Ginyu were still aggrieved over the fact that Zarbon had beaten them to Chestra's virginity. Now both men, almost realizing that they both essentially lost their bet with each other, were trying to figure out how they were going to survive the Biannual Full Staff Meeting, Fair, and Banquet. Captain Ginyu had not dared to send another poorly written love poem to Chestra, now that Zarbon had basically claimed her, for even the overconfident captain knew when to give up. Balair would have continued trying to get Chestra into bed, had it not for Frieza's official blessing on Chestra and Zarbon's relationship, and a few ugly threats from both Zarbon and Jaden warning Balair that he would be risking losing his "three best friends" (meaning his manhood and balls), if he didn't leave Chestra alone permanently. Balair would have normally told Jaden to go to hell, but she and Zarbon were united on this issue, and even he was not as foolish as to try to take on two other Top Elites by himself, particularly one who was still Head Commander. Balair had grudgingly assented, and after a week or two after the incident on planet Sime (which the Unibraugh had been extremely happy purchasing from Frieza at the steep price they had offered him), he had left Chestra alone. He would nod curtly to her when they passed each other in the corridors, and she would nod politely back, but that was all.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Near the end of Chestra's Final Evaluation…  
  
Now six months had passed, and Chestra was finally taking her Final Evaluation, and the examination was in the final stage, with her facing off against Zarbon and Dodoria. She had already eliminated Dodoria from the match by throwing him out of the ring telekinetically when she had managed to catch him off guard. Now it was just her and Zarbon, and they had been fighting so hard and so intensely that Zarbon had transformed himself into his second form that resembled a green Oozaru.  
  
Zarbon was merciless on his lover in the final stage of Final Evaluation; he had to be, as required. Chestra knew that she would have to forget for the most part that Zarbon was the man she loved and fight to last. She was just as hard on him as he was on her, and she held no grudge against him for his fierceness as he landed repeated blows and kicks on her. She knew that he could not show favoritism towards her, not now. She returned most of his blows and kicks blow for blow and kick for kick. They hammered ruthlessly on each other, attacking each other wherever they could hit or kick. Chestra sported a huge bruise on her shoulder, and Zarbon bore a nasty scar on his side, but they did not stop. Only five minutes were now left in the Final Evaluation.  
  
Zarbon was holding Chestra in a headlock, a headlock that Chestra was having a hard time breaking, even with her telekinetic powers. She concentrated her mind on forcing him to release his arm from around her slender neck. Finally, she grinned and tickling him in a special spot on his stomach, knowing that he was particularly ticklish there. Zarbon shrank back and he was forced to release her. Chestra used her mind to telekinetically seize him and pin his feet to the floor where they could not move. Zarbon fired several ki blasts at her, all of which Chestra had ducked successfully.  
  
Zarbon was about to fire another ki blast at her when Hickey's loud voice boomed throughout the still, tense air of the arena, "Time's up, VR Chestra! Congratulations, you've passed all of your tests, including written and oral, for your Final Evaluation! You are now officially one of Frieza's soldiers! Congratulations!"  
  
There was whistling and applauding heard all around, as Frieza himself joined the tiny, loud Hickey on the side of the ring. He declared through the mike, "I would like to add, ladies and gentlemen, that Chestra, formerly VR Chestra, is now a Mid-Elite Officer. Congratulations, Mid-Elite Officer Chestra."  
  
Chestra replied humbly, "Thank you, sire." She still had not forgiven him for trying to rape her, but for her survival and the sake of her happiness with Zarbon, she had been cordial to him. To this day, she still did not know why Frieza's romantic and sexual interest in her had come to a complete halt, but she and Zarbon were glad that it did. Frieza had gone back to treating her the exact same way that he had done before he had become infatuated with her, and she just let it be. She knew realistically that it would be unlikely that she would ever escape Frieza, but she had found her heaven within her hell. She had her beloved Zarbon and her best friend, Jaden, and that was all that mattered to her. And now she was also a Mid-Elite Officer as well. Her life was not perfect, especially with the shadow of Frieza hanging over her, but it was much better than it had been in a long time.  
  
And despite what Frieza had tried to do to her, Chestra knew that she did owe him a debt, although she would have never admitted it to anyone, but herself. For if it had not been for Frieza discovering her that day on planet Egimari, Chestra might not be alive right now. She would have either been in the next dimension, or the Triumvirate of Egimari's sexual plaything, or worst, being put back on the intergalactic slave market. So in a way, she did owe her life to Frieza, or so Chestra thought. She still had not completely absolved him for what he had tried to do to her, but she did acknowledge deep down inside that she would not have had a chance for a somewhat free life (as free as it could get under Frieza), if it had not been for the evil warlord. To this day, Chestra did not know whether to be thankful to Frieza for rescuing her from her Egimari masters, or angry with him for trying to rape her and separate her from Zarbon. With mixed feelings, she continued her work under Frieza, believing as long as she had Zarbon and Jaden, she was content. In the end, she reflected that her life could have turned out a lot worst than it had.  
  
Zarbon, whom Chestra had released from the telekinetic bond, hobbled over to his beloved and gave her a sweeping passionate kiss that surprised everyone who was watching. They had never seen their Head Commander be this open or this expressive in public before unless it was a show of anger or fighting. Dodoria and some of the Ginyu Force squad members snickered, and Balair received a piercing ki blast on his shoulder from Zarbon when he had dared to ask him if he planned to keep Chestra all to himself. Frieza was solemn, and Jaden was grinning, especially when she saw Balair's burned shoulder and heard his howls of pain. And when she heard his cries, she laughed loudly, her rough voice merrily reverberating throughout the arena.  
  
Hickey was jumping up and down like an excited little boy, and he cried out so excitedly over Chestra's victory that his loud voice almost reached a high C pitch. Dodoria was forced to clamp his meaty, pink hand over Hickey's mouth, for the last time that Hickey had made a high C pitch, the tiny mouse alien with the big ears broke all of the windows on Frieza's mother ship with his powerful voice while the ship had been docked on one of Frieza's many planets. The damage had cost Frieza a fortune to have all of the windows replaced and almost cost Hickey his life for being so careless. If it had not been for all of the Top Elite Officers vouching for the poor emcee/referee/announcer (for despite his earsplitting voice, they all did like him, even Balair and Dodoria), Hickey would have been residing in the next dimension. Frieza had been amused that all of his Top Elite Officers would actually agree on one subject, instead of squabbling amongst themselves, so he allowed the little mouse to live, but warned that the next time Hickey fouled up, he'd be a mouseburger.  
  
"Don't do that again," Dodoria hissed in Hickey's ear. "Remember what almost happened to you the last time that you did that." Hickey meekly nodded.  
  
Chestra, who was still wrapped in Zarbon's arms, as they left the ring, noticed for the first time that Diamonique had been at her Chestra's Final Evaluation, but she only politely waved at Diamonique and left the arena quickly with her mate. Diamonique, to everyone's amazement, had been inducted into the Elite before Chestra. The reason for that was that Diamonique had competed in one King Cold's tournaments to win herself an Elite position without going through her Final Evaluation. She had barely won her way into a Mid-Elite position, and she and Chestra were now of the same rank, much to the ice maiden's annoyance. Despite her success, she despised Chestra as much as ever, especially since learning from her cousin, Eclipse, in the Ginyu Girls, that Chestra and Zarbon had become mates. Diamonique still wanted Zarbon for herself, and she was furious that a worthless former slave girl who had no clue as to her past or origins could win the heart of a man like Zarbon. What did Chestra have that she didn't?  
  
Once Diamonique had become a Mid-Elite officer, she had coerced a Lower-Elite Technical Officer to secretly install a spy camera in Zarbon's room under the premise of checking Zarbon's room alarm. Diamonique had a small, portable machine with a little screen where she could watch Zarbon's activities at any time. She was still obsessed with him, and she was determined to have him for herself yet, Chestra or no Chestra. She had been watching Zarbon for the past few days, and she had been unable to keep herself from watching and fawning over Zarbon's nude, muscular body whenever he undressed in front of the spy camera.  
  
Now, she quietly followed Chestra and Zarbon out of the arena, into the corridor, where Zarbon and Chestra stepped into an elevator that would lead upstairs to the Top Elite suites. Diamonique followed them in a separate elevator.  
  
When Chestra and Zarbon reached the Top Elite suites, they managed to pass the guards easily, for Zarbon had granted permission for Chestra to enter the Top Elite sleeping quarters at any time. Any officer below a Top Elite rank had to obtain permission from a Top Elite officer before he or she was permitted to enter the Top Elite suites, otherwise he or she would be barred from the area.  
  
When Diamonique had neared the Top Elite suites, she had to stop where she was because she did not have permission to go any further. All she could do was sit and wait, so she went to sit down on a simple white bench outside of the Top Elite suites. She turned on her spy device and watch in disgusted horror, as Zarbon quickly began to undress Chestra while Chestra was kissing him passionately.  
  
Diamonique clenched her small fists in fury. That little former virgin certainly wasn't wasting any time!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Two hours later…  
  
Diamonique had to stop watching Chestra and Zarbon after the first hour, and she had never been so repulsed in her short life. Chestra and Zarbon had made love repeatedly for the past two hours, with Zarbon slowly and leisurely caressing every part of his partner's body, and Chestra exploring every inch of her mate's body with both her mouth and her hands. Chestra was an apt and willing student who happily embraced almost all of the things that Zarbon was now teaching the newest Mid-Elite Officer in bed.   
  
Diamonique couldn't resist turning her spying device on again, and she nearly screamed when she saw Chestra leisurely kiss and touch Zarbon's private areas. The Gemstarian warrior gnashed her teeth in fury when Chestra continued to make love to Zarbon with her mouth below his waist and above his knees. Finally, Diamonique couldn't take it anymore, and she angrily shut off the device and flung it at the wall.  
  
"That little whore! She claimed that she had been a virgin when Zarbon had taken her, but there's no way a mousy little virgin could know all those moves in bed so quickly! She had to have picked them up from somewhere, the little slave slut! Oh, I hate her! I hate her, I hate her, I hate her! I wish I'd been able to kill her when I had the chance! I must find a way to make her pay for taking what should have been mine to have!"  
  
She then heard a voice on her scouter. "Mid-Elite Officer Diamonique?"  
  
Diamonique smiled then. It was nice to be in the Elite, and to have Frieza address her as such. "Yes, sire?" she asked sweetly.  
  
"Planet Avaran needs to be cleared immediately. I cannot spare any Top Elites for this assignment at this time. You and Mid Elite Officer Chestra right now are the best that I have for this job. Do you think that you two could handle it together?"  
  
"I could handle it myself, sire," Diamonique boasted without thinking.  
  
"Perhaps you could, Diamonique, perhaps you could. But this is also to be a test mission for the both of you, and you and Chestra may be working together in the future. It will take two Mid-Elites to handle this job, and while the people on Avaran are a bit tough, it is nothing that you two young ladies can't handle."  
  
Diamonique did not want to go on a mission with Chestra, and she was foolish enough to try to get out of it. "Sire, perhaps I ought to handle this one on my own. I've been doing this a little longer than Chestra has. Besides Chestra will surely need her rest after her Final Eval."  
  
"You both will have two days before this assignment, Diamonique, but I want you two to work together, and that is not optional. I insist on it; I want to see how well you two can do on your own, and how much you have learned. Come to my office in two hours to learn more about the inhabitants." She scowled heavily at Frieza's words.  
  
Grudgingly, Diamonique muttered, "Yes, sire. Whatever you say." And when they cut off communication, Diamonique's scowl transformed into a wicked, malicious smile. She then began to laugh cruelly, her rough, scraping laugh echoing throughout the corridors of the Top Elite Suites, nearly straining the eardrums of everyone who was nearby and out in the halls.  
  
"I will be happy to have Chestra accompany me to Avaran," she purred. And then, she crossed her arms and leaned back against the cold, steel wall happily and added, "Because I will see personally that she never returns from Avaran. This next mission will be her last!"  
And then she began to scheme on just how she would end Chestra's life once and for all.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Zarbon's bedroom…  
  
Zarbon and Chestra were basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, with Chestra's ruby and emerald head nestled against Zarbon's hard chest. Both were still undressed, their bare bodies fitting together perfectly against each other. Zarbon was leisurely stroking her hair when Chestra's scouter on the nightstand beeped softly. Both lovers grumbled under their breath at this untimely interruption.  
  
Chestra muttered, "Someone better be trying to blow up this ship." She then reluctantly sat up and answered her scouter on the nightstand. "Hello?" she asked politely.  
  
"Mid-Elite Officer Chestra, this is Lord Frieza. You have an assignment with Diamonique for planet Avaran in two days. I need that planet cleared as soon as possible. The inhabitants there are tough, but they are nothing that you and Diamonique cannot handle together. Come to my office in two hours from now to learn more about Avaran and her inhabitants."  
  
Chestra said as calmly as possible, "Yes, sire," and then they cut off communication.  
  
Zarbon had heard the entire conversation. He pulled his mate closer to him and sighed, "So he's sending you off already. It's your first assignment without Jaden or me. Are you sure that you're ready for it-and Diamonique?"  
  
Chestra said slowly, "I think so. I don't know which to be more worried about: putting up with Diamonique, or fighting the Avarani." Zarbon and Jaden still did not know that Diamonique had tried to kill Chestra when they had been on planet Nassau, and Chestra had not seen the necessity in telling them. She did not relish being alone on an assignment with the ice maiden, but Diamonique did not scare her a bit. Chestra had long ago figured that Diamonique had learned her lesson on Nassau and figured wisely that it was far safer to leave Chestra alone. She considered Diamonique a nuisance, but not a real threat.  
  
"The Avarani are a tough race," Zarbon told her, stroking her ruby tresses. "They are not as strong as the Saiyans or the Astorians, but they are tougher than many races in the western quarter of the Rosetta Galaxy. Lord Frieza's brother, Coola, has a few of the tougher Avarani working for him, but we have none here. Many Avarani men and women for Intergalacticpol, the Intergalactic police force, and lately they have been trying to rebel against Frieza and end his sovereignty over them. Also there is a race from the Bukata Galaxy, the Horitan race that has been one Avaran's main enemies for years. They are offering Frieza a high price if he can have Avaran cleared for them."  
  
"What do the Avarani look like?" Chestra asked. "What are they like power wise?"  
  
"The Avarani are humanoid, but very strange ones. All of them are no taller than you, but their bodies are much broader and squat with huge feet twice the size of their heads. An Avarani has three eyes, the color of them either being red or orange, and two mouths, one on his face for speaking, and one on his abdomen for eating. Their skin color is bright neon yellow, and they either have red hair, purple hair, or green hair, short patchy hair, very coarse. As for their capabilities, they are not strong physically, but they carry deadly weapons that are capable of blowing up a small moon or even Lord Frieza's mother ship. They are one of the most technologically advanced races next to the Calmagians, Astorians, and Saiyans, and it has been their technology that has kept Frieza from destroying them in the past. You or Diamonique could easily kill an unarmed one with seconds, but it is their weaponry that you have to beware of."  
  
"On planet Avaran, the Avarani have landmines planted almost everywhere, and each soldier in the Avaran army carries a device that can set off a landmine anywhere within fifty miles of him or her. They can easily shoot rockets and missiles beyond their atmosphere and deep into space and destroy any approaching spacecraft that they perceive as a threat. It is likely that you will have to use the cloaking devices and radar-blocking devices that have been recently installed in the space pods to disguise yourselves." Zarbon sighed, and his emerald head fell back against his pillow. "And that's all I can think of for right now. Chestra, be careful, be very careful. I don't want to lose you."  
  
"You won't lose me," Chestra promised him softly, kissing him gently. She traced her fingers lightly against his chest. "Zarbon, Lord Frieza did say two hours right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
Chestra grinned then. "Well, how many more rounds do you think that we could do in an hour?"  
  
Zarbon chuckled. "Let's find out!" And with that, he pulled Chestra further into his arms, and they began to make love again.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Two days later in Chestra and Diamonique's new bedroom in the Elite quarters…  
  
Chestra was out to lunch with Zarbon at the Elite Lounge And Bar while Diamonique was packing for their trip. "Hmmm…lipstick, ten tubes should do it, especially of the shades of amethyst ice and melted sapphire. Then my new silky, silver, lacy undergarments, and my new gold garters…there that should do it! And now, for the final stages of my plans for Chestra!"  
  
She laughed again, her laughter resembling the sounds of nails scraping on a blackboard, as she whispered to herself, "Foolish Chestra, thinking that I am no longer a threat to her! Well, well, she doesn't yet know of my other powers, such as being able to turn people into diamond statues permanently or being able to freeze their vital organs, so that they will shut down forever! Oh, Chesty, darling, you are so naïve, you really are! You better have enjoyed those hours of lovemaking with my Zarbon, because you will never get to make love to him again. The next time he takes a woman, she will be, not you, because you won't be alive to pleasure him after Avaran is cleared. You will be joining the stupid Avarani in hell, hahahahaha!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
At the same time, in the ladies' restrooms three rooms down from Chestra and Diamonique's room…  
  
"Ugh, that is it! No more jumbo-sized bean-and-chili cheeseburger pot pies for me!" Jaden grumbled, after she had finished taking a long time on the toilet. None of the other female Elite officers had dared to use the restroom because of the near-toxic odor enveloping the entire room. Jaden had just experienced the worst case of diarrhea that she ever had, and she felt that she had definitely learned her lesson: even her iron stomach could rust now and then!  
  
"Never again!" she vowed, as she gave a final belch. She was about to head to the infirmary to get some antacids and anti-diarrhea medicine from Dr. Katsen. She knew that Dr. Katsen would lecture her again about eating beans and cheese in the same meal, but she could take it. Anything to feel better.  
  
Just before she could leave, she cocked her head to the wall of the ladies room when she heard Diamonique whisper Chestra's name. The Rybanese, along with the Meatian race, had the best hearing out of many Rosetta Galaxy races, and Jaden was no exception to that rule. Jaden became concerned then, as she began to listen to Diamonique's whispers out of curiosity, then out of concern for Chestra:  
  
"Foolish Chestra, thinking that I am no longer a threat to her! Well, well, she doesn't yet know of my other powers, such as being able to turn people into diamond statues permanently or being able to freeze their vital organs, so that they will shut down forever! Oh, Chesty, darling, you are so naïve, you really are! You better have enjoyed those hours of lovemaking with my Zarbon, because you will never get to make love to him again. The next time he takes a woman, she will be, not you, because you won't be alive to pleasure him after Avaran is cleared. You will be joining the stupid Avarani in hell, hahahahaha!"  
  
Jaden clenched her fists in worry and anger. "The little witch! Does Chestra even know what the little slut is planning? I've got to warn her!"  
  
But before Jaden could do so, her stocky body suddenly doubled over with cramps, and she nearly screamed with the awful pain in her stomach that had so inconveniently returned. In her suffering, her scouter fell off of her face and hit the floor. Jaden fell to the floor in pain, and before she knew it, she crushed her scouter beneath her heavy feet.  
  
"Shoot! Just what I needed now! Curse Diamonique and curse my stomach! Wait, it's already cursed!" she cried in agony, as she was forced to return to her toilet once more. There was no telling how much longer she would be in there this time.  
  
She just hoped that her stomach and bowels would do their business quickly before Chestra and Diamonique left. She only had two hours left to warn Chestra in.  
  
  
A/N: Let's all hope that Jaden can make it out of the ladies' room in time to help Chestra! Diamonique's such a scheming little witch! Ugh!   
Will Diamonique succeed in her plans to kill Chestra (those of you who are reading Tayla as well probably already know the answer)? And will Jaden's body start working right again long enough for Jaden to help her friend? And how will Zarbon react? Can they stop Diamonique in time?  
  
  
TO TAYLA OF ASTORIA READERS: The mini mystery presented in Ch. 86 has been solved faster than I thought it would be. Cirono is the winner because she or he was the first to guess correctly. The traitor is General Norbrook (bet, you all didn't see that one coming before 86!) Anyway, Cirono, if you are reading this, I need you to contact me as soon as you can, so I can ask you a few questions. I just need a little background info, so I can decide how to make your character in either chapter 88, 89, or 90. I won't give out your email addy, or anything like that; I just need to ask a few questions. 


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Heart Freeze

Chapter Nineteen: Heart Freeze  
  
Ninety minutes later in Frieza's office…  
  
"You really should try to calm yourself, Zarbon," Frieza said smoothly, as he idled with one of his expensive gold pens while he was sitting in his remodeled office. It had cost Frieza a fortune to have the damage in his beloved office repaired. He had a new plush red carpet from planet Eyevar made with a deep pile, plus an expensive ornate rug with stars and moons on it from planet Yustachi. He traced his slim white fingers casually over the new "peige" desk that had been made of the peige wood from planet Cara-Camay, as he lounged back in his new gray leather chair with blue velvet trimming that had come from planet Arvu, a planet well known for its fine textiles and rare fibers. The gold crown molding had also been replaced.  
  
"I can't but worry, sire. This is her first assignment without Jaden or me, and the Avarani are a dangerous race."  
  
"She can handle it, Zarbon, you know that. She and Diamonique can easily blow away most of the Avarani, just using ki blasts alone, and Diamonique has a special trick that she developed where she can cause snow or hail, or even both at the same time. And Chestra has her telekinesis and that pain-increasing attack she calls Tenfold Pain Blast-I loved it when she used it on Balair during her Mid-Evaluation!"  
  
Zarbon chuckled in spite of himself. "So did I, sire, so did I." Balair had received what he had truly deserved that day. Zarbon had always held Balair in contempt, and he was glad that a female, his female, had given Balair the butt kicking that he had needed. His Sistrai comrade was such a chauvinistic, macho, arrogant bastard who needed his ego periodically deflated now and then.  
  
"Sire, may I be excused?" Zarbon asked calmly as possible. "I wish to tell Chestra goodbye before she leaves with Diamonique."  
  
Frieza grinned. "Sure, why not?   
  
Zarbon said a polite goodbye to his liege and left. He still had not forgiven Frieza for what he had tried to do to Chestra and him, but he was cordial to his master for his sake and his mate's. For now, the couple was thankful that the warlord was leaving them in peace and allowing them to be together without hassle. Maybe someday, he and Chestra would eventually leave the tyrant for good…maybe.  
  
Until then, they had to be grateful for what they did have and could keep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Zarbon was nearing the launching port of Frieza's ship when he noticed Jaden shouting at one of the space traffic controllers, the ones who usually helped space pods and smaller ships to take off to their destined planets. Jaden was letting the guy have it:  
  
"What the hell do you mean they already left? Why did they leave early? Huh? Tell me!"  
  
"Everything was ready early, Commander Jaden, please!" the frightened controller cried out in protest. "So Mid-Elite officers Diamonique and Chestra mutually agreed that it was best for them to get started on their assignment now. Because the preparations took a shorter time than expected, we allowed them to go right after the preflight checks. Please, Commander, if I had known that you wanted them to remain longer, I would have delayed the pod launchings. I am sorry, Commander Jaden, but I did not hear otherwise. Even Lord Frieza said if they were ready early, they could leave however early as they wished!"  
  
Jaden shoved him away and growled, "Get me a pod ready for Avaran immediately!"  
  
"Commander, has Lord Frieza assigned you to that planet as well?"  
  
"Just do it, Harki! I don't have time for Twenty Thousand Questions! This is an emergency, if Lord Frieza asks. I've got to go; get me a pod ready!"  
  
"Whatever you say, Commander," Harki squeaked, as he ran to do Jaden's bidding.  
  
Zarbon had caught up with Jaden. Why would Jaden be going to Avaran as well? She was assigned to go clear planet Margush in less than two weeks, and Margush and Avaran were millions of light-years apart. There was no way that Jaden would get back in time to do the Margush assignment as well.  
  
"Jaden," he inquired. "What's going on?"  
  
The Rybanese warrior whirled around on him and said, "Chestra's in danger! Diamonique plans to kill her while they're on the Avaran assignment."  
  
"What?" Zarbon exclaimed in horror. "Why?"  
  
"From what I heard, Zarbon, Diamonique still wants you for herself, and she's willing to kill off Chestra to have you for yourself. If we don't hurry, Chestra will be seeing Enma Daiou before she sees us again."  
  
The frantic pair ran to separate pods after Jaden had commanded Harki to have a pod prepared for Zarbon as well. Harki hurriedly had the pods prepared for their departure.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Planet Avaran, four days later, on the continent of Sarabi, in the Wouki Desert…  
  
Frieza had correctly predicted Chestra and Diamonique's success in fighting against the Avarani. Despite all of the advanced war technology the Avarani had, Chestra and Diamonique were more than able to hold their own with them. Chestra had used her mind to telekinetically blow up almost all of the Avarani's landmines, killing many soldiers or crippling them in the process. She was also able to use her mind to turn the weapons against their users, killing them with their own warring machines. Diamonique had invoked a hailstorm, plus a snowstorm with a ki blast to the sky, and the severe weather that she had created, slowed down the survivors considerably.  
  
There were five continents on Avaran, and so far, Chestra and Diamonique had almost managed to clear three of them within the last four days. Chestra tried not to think of all the innocent people, women and children, that she had killed. The guilt would often wake her up in the middle of the night, bringing back painful memories of the destruction on planets Ryban and Ghetti, the only planets that she had had any happiness on. Now instead of being the victim, she was the attacker, the murderer, and the one who was helping to bring chaos and sorrow to millions of innocent living beings.  
  
She had cried several times over what she was doing at the times when she was unable to stay objective and focused on the assignment at hand. She did not like the fact that she had long ago lost track of how many lives she had taken, and she did not even want to think of how many more that she would have to take before Frieza no longer considered her useful.  
  
Now she and Diamonique were sleeping in their separate tents in the remote desert region known as Wouki Desert. The night was unbearably balmy and humid, as the climate of the continent of Sarabi remained hot two-thirds of the year. Chestra and Diamonique were stripped down to their thin nightclothes in order to keep themselves cool.   
  
Chestra was hugging her pillow, as she lay there in the sticky heat, wearing just her negligee with no blanket covering her. She hugged her pillow tighter, missing Zarbon and the comfort of his warm, hard body and his firm, strong arms. The lavender negligee that she was wearing clung tightly to her snowy flesh, making the thin cloth seem almost like a second skin. She fervently wiped her brow, as the sweat drenched her face, and then her body. Who had ever thought that nights could be so hot and humid?  
  
Finally, she fell into a deep sleep, she now being oblivious to the intense heat that was threatening to bake her right out of her skin. While she was sleeping, a tall, slender figure crept into her tent and sat down next to her resting form. The figure turned Chestra's body towards its direction, and then the shadowy presence laid its hand on her chest. Chestra's nerves were turned on, and she awoke with a start. Recognizing her visitor, she launched her petite body upon the intruder, knocking the invader to the sandy ground. Chestra pinned her visitor to the ground, using her mind to restrain her would-be attacker. She had one small hand around her opponent's throat.  
  
"What you are doing here?" Chestra demanded to know. "Diamonique, you weren't thinking of trying to attack me again, were you?" Chestra's pale green eyes darkened and narrowed, and Diamonique couldn't help, but flinch under her partner's intense, angry glare.  
  
"I-I just wanted to make sure that you're all right," Diamonique said as smoothly as possible. Beads of sweat danced down her anxious face, as she worried whether Chestra would let her live or not. It was this anxiety, as well as the heat, that made Diamonique sweat so heavily. She and Chestra had spoken to each other as little as possible during their journey and the time that they had spent on Avaran against their victims. Diamonique was trying to think of a way to gracefully escape Chestra without bodily injury. Chestra was using her mind to pin her down, and Diamonique could not even lift a finger against her attacker.  
  
"Will you let me up now, please?" she hissed at Chestra angrily.  
  
"Not until you tell me the real reason that you were in my tent," Chestra persisted. "I would hate to think that you were trying to kill me again. Tell the truth, tell me!"  
  
"Alright, alright, I will!" Diamonique said in a falsely compliant tone. "I must confess, Chestra, that I admired that new nightgown of yours, that one that Zarbon gave her with the red ribbon roses and the mauve silk-like fabric. It's low-cut, and yet demure. I just wanted to try it on, and see how it would look on me."  
  
"We're in the middle of war, where we could get killed at any time, and you're worried about trying on my clothes?"  
  
"Yes, yes, darling, and I realize now how foolish it was of me to even consider it. Truly, I am sorry, Chesty-I mean Chestra. At least tell me where Zarbon got it from you, hmm? I would like to buy one for myself."  
  
"He got it from one of the shops on one of Frieza's planets-Eyevar, I believe it was. But that's not important right now, Diamonique, as we really do need to get some sleep." Chestra had calmed down considerably, but there was that little instinct telling her that Diamonique was up to something. But what?  
  
She would find out soon enough.  
  
"Can you let me up, please?" Diamonique begged her. "I will go right to my own tent and not bother you for the rest of the night."  
  
Chestra sighed, "I suppose so." And with that, she telekinetically released Diamonique and allowed her to sit up.  
  
That would prove to be a costly mistake.  
  
Before Chestra could prepare herself, Diamonique fired a tiny, silver laser into Chestra's heart. Chestra screamed, as she felt her heart grow colder and colder. She clutched at her chest, and she could have sworn that her heart was freezing-literally!  
  
It was!  
  
Chestra's skin tone turned from snow to ash, her white skin now becoming gray, as she clutched at her chest frantically. Her breathing began to slow rapidly, as she grew faint. She emitted one final scream before she passed out completely, on her way now to a slow, agonizing death.  
  
Diamonique laughed wickedly, as she happily watched Chestra fade away. "Thanks for helping me clear this wretched planet, Chesty, but I don't need you anymore! Don't worry, I'll take good care of Zarbon for you!"  
  
And laughing manically, she leaned back against the wall of the tent, with her arms crossed, calmly, serenely watching Chestra began to die slowly. Diamonique smiled cruelly, with no regret for her evil deed, or pity for her archrival.  
  
Chestra was no longer breathing, and her skin was now a pale shade of gray.  
  
______________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: Short chapter, I know, but I figured that this would be a good place to stop. (Don't you just hate cliffhangers, LOL.) Anyway, will Jaden and Zarbon be able to save Chestra in time, or has Diamonique finally succeeded in eradicating her once and for all? 


	20. Chapter Twenty: Jaden Intervenes

Chapter Twenty: Jaden Intervenes  
  
Avaran was a huge planet, a little large than Jupiter in the Milky Way Galaxy. It had taken Zarbon and Jaden two days to get closer to Chestra and Diamonique's trail. The Avarani of the surviving continents now had both Top Elite officers on their hit list, especially since Jaden destroyed the soldiers of the most important military base on the continent of Orangi with her Sonic Scream Attack, an attack that could break anyone's bones with a high C note from her powerful voice when she screamed. Zarbon had his ears plugged with wax during Jaden's terrifying attack. Jaden wouldn't have attacked them, but the Avarani soldiers fired their missiles at her and Zarbon, and they would have been killed, had not Jaden fended them off.   
  
Now they were on the run from the Avarani army and also Intergalacticpol, for there had been an Intergalacticpol base in Orangi. Jaden and Zarbon could have handled both the planetary army and the Intergalacticpol officers, but neither one of them felt up to causing any more havoc without finding Diamonique and Chestra first. Time was fast running out.  
  
Warplanes were flying all about Jaden and Zarbon, as they were now flying over the continent of Marama, Avaran's smallest continent. The bright orange warplanes (they were bright orange to blend in with the carrot-tinted sky color of Avaran) were shooting missiles and lasers at the two Top Elite officers left and right. However, for every blow that the warplanes gave Zarbon and Jaden, the two Top Elites gave back twofold. Jaden and Zarbon disintegrated most of the Avarani warplanes within minutes of the Avarani army attacking.  
  
Finally, when Zarbon had destroyed the last one, they were hovering over the pure white sands of the Wouki Desert. Jaden turned on her new scouter for the umpteenth time, hoping to contact Chestra. Again, there was that fuzzy sound, no real response.  
(Jaden didn't know that Diamonique had cleverly tampered with Chestra's communication device on Chestra's scouter the night before last, rendering the communication parts useless. Chestra could not give or receive messages.)  
  
Finally, Zarbon decided to contact Diamonique. He tuned into Diamonique's scouter channel, and a sugary-icy sweet voice cooed, "Hello, Zarbon, how are you?"  
  
Zarbon tried to remain as calm as possible, although he wanted to rip all of Diamonique's deadly nails out of her fingers one by one. "I am fine, Diamonique, and you?"  
  
"Very well, and very happy to hear from you, Zarbon," Diamonique said in that cloying voice of hers. "Where are you at, darling?"  
  
"Why on Avaran, same as you. In fact, I was looking for you because I've been thinking so much about you on the way here," Zarbon told her truthfully. He had been thinking about her quite a bit, on how much he would like to strangle her and give her to Enma Daiou as a gift.  
  
"Really? Do you think that we could meet, just for a little while?"  
  
"Sure!" Zarbon enthused silkily. "I would love to meet with you, Diamonique. I think that it's about time that we spent some time together, for there are some things that I would like to discuss with you."  
  
"Really? Like what?"  
  
"Oh, you'll see, my little Gemstarian warrior. I've been wanting to spend some time alone with you."  
  
"You don't know how happy that makes me, Zarbon. But what about Chestra?"  
  
"Forget about her. I wish to discuss us."  
  
Jaden couldn't help but grin at Zarbon's making Diamonique think that he wanted to see her for personal reasons. Finally, Zarbon convinced Diamonique to reveal her location, and they cut off communication. Zarbon smiled wryly.  
  
"Well, Jaden, your plan seems to be working out well. Let's just hope that it's not too late."  
  
"Easy, Zarbon. I told you Diamonique would fall for it. A woman in love or in lust with a man will believe anything that she wants to in order to convince herself that he cares for her. At least that's what I've heard from Eclipse. That little ice maiden's falling for our trap like Dodoria falling for the promise of a ten-course meal all to himself and Balair falling for-well, anything little and cute with a working vagina."  
  
The Rybanese warrior noticed was Zarbon's skin was pale, and his fists were clenched in anxiety. The normally unaffectionate Jaden patted her comrade on his shoulder.  
  
"Chestra's a survivor, Zarbon. No matter what happens, she's gonna be all right."  
  
Zarbon sighed, "I hope so, Jaden, I hope so."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later…  
  
Diamonique felt for Chestra's pulse, and it was a weak beat now, no stronger than the flutter of an Earth butterfly's wings. She smiled widely, waiting for the perfect moment when even that little beat would be no more.  
  
The Gemstarian maiden wondered briefly where she would bury her archrival, and then she shook her and decided on cremation. She had her story all ready for Frieza and the others, should they ask about Chestra's untimely death: a missile hit Chestra's body while Chestra was destroying a city and it exploded, killing her instantly. There would be no more Avarani left to testify otherwise.  
  
Diamonique rested her icy-blue head against the walls of the tent, first relaxed until she realized that Chestra was still alive. Finally, the cold-hearted warrior woman decided that she was tired of waiting for her archrival to die, so she raised her hand. She would do "Chesty" one last favor and put the girl out of her misery.  
  
Diamonique laughed wickedly, as she prepared to blast Chestra straight to Enma Daiou. She could feel Zarbon's lips pressing against hers now, and in no time, Diamonique was certain that she could make Zarbon desire her as much as he had Chestra.  
  
No, she would make him desire her more than he had Chestra.  
  
"Say hello to E.D. for me, Chesty!" Diamonique purred, as she prepared to release a ki blast from her slim hand. She was sitting there perfectly, waiting to disintegrate her dying partner, a picture of a maiden with a cruel, smiling expression on her face, one who had no regrets about killing her comrade.  
  
"ZIP! WHIR!"  
  
Diamonique was still in her sitting position, with her hand still raised to destroy Chestra once and for all. But the evil expression marring her beautiful features was gone; instead her face expressed horror and shock-the shock of a woman who never truly knew what hit her.  
  
Diamonique was frozen in time, as Jaden and Zarbon stepped into the tent, quietly observing the stiff position of Diamonique, her body unable to move, her mouth unable to scream. Zarbon paid no attention to the sinister female, as he rushed over to Chestra's side, shaking her gently.  
  
"Chestra? Chestra? It's me, Zarbon. Wake up, please! Please wake up!" her lover cried frantically.  
  
Jaden watched the tragic pair with rare pity in her usually unexpressive yellow eyes, and then she turned and spat on the statue-like Diamonique. Diamonique did not scream at her for spitting on her, or even flinch.  
  
Not that Diamonique could anyway, even if she wanted to.  
  
She was frozen in time forever, once a beautiful woman made out of flesh and blood.  
  
But now was made out of glass.  
  
The Rybanese warrior looked at the glass Diamonique in both relief and disgust; she was thankful that she had used her Glass Freeze attack in time. She then turned to an anxious Zarbon, who was trying to rouse his love.  
  
"Chestra? Chestra? Please, don't die on me! I'm not going to lose you now!"  
  
Jaden knew only one thing that she could do, but she would have to work fast. Before Zarbon could stop her, the reptilian female warrior shoved past him to get to her best friend. Quickly she turned Chestra's head to its side, and she punched Chestra hard in her head, hard enough to knock her out. Working rapidly, she ripped off Chestra's negligee, and she raised one claw-encrusted hand. In a swift, slicing motion, she cut Chestra's chest open, right above her. Violet blood began to seep gently from the wound, but Jaden used a finger laser to cauterize the bleeding veins.  
  
"Stop!" Zarbon cried. "What are you doing? Why are you hurting her?"  
  
"Shut up!" Jaden roared, in no mood for interruptions. "Listen, lover boy, if you want her to live, you better have your needle and thread ready, and I know you carry those because you don't like to travel with tattered clothes after a battle. Now get that stuff ready and shut your mouth until I'm done!"  
  
"You're going to kill her!" Zarbon screamed.  
  
"I'm going to kill you, if you don't do as I tell you! Now shut up! Get that needle and thread ready! And give me that hand sanitizer that I know that you also carry."  
  
A shocked Zarbon slowly did what Jaden commanded, and Jaden rubbed her hands with the sanitizer. She reached inside Chestra's chest and began to massage the little heart gently, as she blew hot air on it to melt the ice. Jaden surveyed the damage as she went along; thankfully there were no arteries harmed, just a couple of veins.  
  
Zarbon watched in fear and terror, both emotions of which he tried to conceal, but couldn't, as Jaden continued to massage and warm Chestra's slowly beating heart. Jaden's facial expressions went from grim to worried to horrified, then to anxiousness, to uncertainty, to fragile hope, and then finally to pure relief.  
  
"Sweet Kami!" she cried out in a tone that was unusually happy for the normally stoic warrior that she was. "She's gonna make it, Zarbon! I tell you, she's gonna make it!"  
  
Zarbon's hands trembled, as Jaden took the needle and thread and began to complete her "surgery".  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Two hours later…  
  
Zarbon lay near Chestra, carefully holding her to him, relieved at hearing her steady heartbeat again. Jaden sat up beside them, quiet and watchful and thankful. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she awoke slowly, her jade eyes once again opening.  
  
She was amazed to see the beloved faces of her two closest companions, her best friend and the man that she loved the most. "Zarbon? Jaden? Am I dreaming?"  
  
"Don't you wish," Jaden quipped, back to her old snappy self.  
  
"Am-am I alive?"  
  
"Does Dodoria have a butt the size of Frieza's mother ship? Does Balair chase anything young with boobs and a working vagina? Does the Ginyu Force have the combined I.Q. of Zarbon's cape? Does Zarbon still have the hots for you? And does Frieza-"  
  
"Enough, Jaden," Zarbon interrupted. He took Chestra's hand and kissed it gently, smiling at her. "Yes, my love, you're alive, thanks to our sharp-tongued friend here."  
  
Chestra looked at Jaden wonderingly. "You saved me?"  
  
"Sure did," Jaden said without a trace of modesty. "And for a while there, I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. You had us worried to death, kid; don't ever do it again."  
  
"I'll certainly try," Chestra promised her. "What happened to me? All I remember is Diamonique firing a ki blast at me and then-"-she saw Diamonique's glass form-"what in the universe happened to Diamonique?"  
  
"To pardon my language-"-Jaden didn't normally ask anyone to pardon her foul tongue-"I sent the message that her ass was glass."  
  
"You turned her into glass?" Chestra asked, a bit excitedly. She then looked thoughtfully at Diamonique.   
  
"She was going to blast you away for good," Jaden told her.  
  
"How long will she remain like that?" Chestra wanted to know.  
  
"For however as long as I want it, or until she's broken. Once a glass statue is broken, completely, that person's destroyed completely, just as if it was a regular glass ornament."  
  
"Will you keep her like that forever?" Chestra asked curiously.  
  
"Sure, I will. In fact, I'll even break her right now, if you like."  
  
"Wouldn't be that much of a loss," Zarbon quipped, thankful that Chestra was alive.   
  
Chestra shivered in Zarbon's arms, as he held her against him. "I was so foolish," she whispered hoarsely. "I honestly thought that she would leave me alone after that last time on planet Nassau. That time that she tried to poison me with her nails, I thought I was going to-"  
She froze in mid-sentence when she saw Zarbon and Jaden stare at her, horrified. The newly inducted Mid-Elite officer realized then that she had just given herself away.  
  
"She tried to kill you?" Jaden growled so threateningly that even the normally unshakable Chestra was taken aback. "When in the hell did that happen, and why in the hell didn't you say anything?"  
  
Zarbon was not too happy right now either. His voice was stern, as he asked Chestra, "Why didn't you tell me this right after Diamonique had done this? How could you keep something like that from me?" He couldn't believe that Chestra had kept Diamonique's first murder attempt a secret. He felt a little betrayed. Why would she want to protect someone who would deliberately hurt her?  
  
Chestra could barely meet the eyes of her mate and her best friend. She knew that they had a right to be upset, but she had had her own reasons at the time as to why she didn't report Diamonique's first attempt on her life. Her voice stuttered, and that was something that it rarely did. She hadn't been this unnerved since Frieza had tried to force himself on her all those months back.  
  
"I-I thought that I could take care of myself, and I didn't truly believe that she would dare to try to attack me again. Even then, I considered her only a nuisance, not a threat. I know that this is going to sound stupid, but at the time, I didn't see the necessity. I had thought that I had taught her a lesson when I had thrown her around in the air on Nassau. And I didn't want to worry anyone. I realize now that I should have told at least you two, but…well, I did a make a huge mistake now, didn't I?"  
  
"You sure as hell did," Jaden told her severely in such a steely tone that made her best friend hang her head in shame. "What if Zarbon and I hadn't came? Where would you be now, Chestra? You should consider yourself lucky that I have above-average hearing because I heard Diamonique's nasty plans to destroy you. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to you in time to tell you…cursed chili-cheeseburger pot pies!"  
  
Chestra looked at her oddly. "What do chili cheeseburger pot pies have to do with Diamonique's attempt on my life?"  
  
Zarbon looked at Jaden sternly. "Jaden, didn't Dr. Katsen tell you that-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, never eat chili and cheese together in the same meal, my dumb fault! That last time I ate one of those sent me to the john for hours. All right, so I was no better than Chestra when it came to not learning from my mistakes." Jaden turned her glowing yellow eyes back to Chestra. "But seriously, Chestra, you should have told us. That sort of thing you should NEVER keep from anyone, and if you do again, I'll-" Jaden looked at Chestra looking back at her, and the girl was trying not to laugh over Jaden's chili cheeseburger pot pie incident. Jaden permitted herself a grim smile; for the first time in a long time, the fierce Rybanese warrior couldn't think of an adequate threat to give someone.  
  
"Chili cheeseburger pot pies!" Chestra cried out in laughter, as she fell over. "Jaden, I remember Zarbon telling me about your Rybanese sensitivity to chili and cheese combined! And you ate a potpie with that stuff in it! How long were you in the restrooms this time?"  
  
Jaden growled under her breath. "Long enough, too long. It's not my fault that the cooks don't properly weed out the gas-producing enzymes in their foods before they serve it!"  
  
"They do," Zarbon told her with a small smile. "It's just that someone with an appetite the size of a Saiyan's just couldn't keep away from the fine cuisine, no matter what the cost of it was."  
  
"Yeah, well I will definitely never eat those kind of pot pies again," Jaden said roughly. "They nearly cost Chestra her life 'cause my stomach couldn't handle them."  
  
His frowning expression returning, Zarbon looked directly at Chestra, and Chestra winced under her mate's intense stare. He caught her small chin in his and said in his stern tone again, "Chestra, Jaden is right about one thing: you should have told us, or at least me. I was your trainer at the time, and that sort of thing is one thing that you definitely tell the one who is in charge of you. A trainer is supposed to know everything that his or her recruit does, or if that recruit is in danger from anyone. If Frieza and I had known, you and Diamonique would surely have never been sent here together and alone. I could have done something to prevent it. What if Jaden hadn't heard Diamonique's words? What if you had been killed? What if she had killed you right away before we arrived? Did you ever think about that, Chestra?" Zarbon's voice was raised now, and Chestra could no longer meet his eyes with her own. She accepted his chastisement meekly, and meekness was unnatural to her.  
  
He turned away from her for a moment and pounded the ground, causing the desert area around them to shake violently for several seconds. The glass sculpture of Diamonique trembled, nearly toppling over.  
  
He looked at her, anguished, and Chestra noticed a glimmer of a tear in his golden eye. She felt worse than ever. She took a brief glance at Jaden, but Jaden's face was expressionless; she was leaving this between Chestra and Zarbon now. Zarbon turned his dismayed eyes onto his mate again.  
  
"Did you trust me that little, Chestra?" Zarbon demanded to know, and Chestra flinched from the sharpness of his tone. "Whatever reasons you had for keeping silent, protecting that murderous little tramp was a foolish thing to do! You should have at least told me; I could have at least had Dodoria discipline her. What if she had tried again to kill you right away? What if I lost you? What if I never saw you again? Don't you realize that I love you?" He saw Jaden out of the corner of his bright amber eye, and he saw her trying not to smirk or snicker.  
Chestra was finally able to meet her lover's eyes, and she whispered ashamedly, "I am so sorry. I never meant to worry anyone."  
  
"Well you did!" Zarbon shouted again, but then he noticed a tiny tear in the corner of her left pale green eye. His expression softened, as he brushed that one tear away with his thumb. "Chestra, please don't start to cry, please. I was scared to death that I was going to lose the one person who meant more than life itself to me. Please don't ever scare me like that again, please."  
  
Her body was trembling, as Zarbon slowly drew her to him. He pulled her into his arms, and they clung to each other tightly, as if they never wanted to let each other go again. Chestra emitted a few sobs from her throat, and Zarbon himself could barely keep from crying. They kissed each other softly  
  
"I won't, I promise. And I won't ever keep anything like that from you again, neither you or Jaden."  
  
"Well, you better not," Jaden finally said gruffly, interrupting this scene, which she thought was getting too sappy for her. She was uncomfortable with open displays of public affection between lovers, even those between her closest friends. "All right, all's forgiven, now if you two mushy lovebirds don't mind, I have a life behind me that I intend to 'shatter'."   
And with that, Jaden turned towards Diamonique's statue, preparing to shatter the murderous girl into thousands of glass fragments.  
  
Chestra saw Jaden about to destroy Diamonique for good, and to her and everyone else's astonishment, she screamed out, "Jaden, no!"  
  
"WHAT?" Jaden froze in her position with her hand still poised at a ninety-degree angle, ready to break Diamonique's glass form. "What the hell did you stop me for? She deserves what she's about to get."  
  
"Yes, I know," Chestra said quietly. "But I can't let you do it."  
  
"You don't have to 'let' me do anything. I'm going to disintegrate her anyway."  
  
"Jaden, no, please," Chestra said softly. "She's not worth it. It's not right; we can't sink to her level-"  
  
"Sink to her level? Chestra, she works for Frieza, we all work for Frieza, whether we like it or not. We're all the same as she is."  
  
"Exactly," Chestra told her, catching Jaden in her own trap, something that very few people were able to do. "What Diamonique did to me is no different that what we do regularly to others. But there are levels that we could sink to further, and do we really want to sink any lower than we already are? Working for Frieza is low enough, don't you think?"  
  
"Yeah it is, but what can we do? It's safer to live with a psycho than be on the run from him; at least you can tell what that psycho's going to do, if you're around him regularly. But that's going off the subject, and Diamonique deserves to get her demise."  
  
"Maybe," Chestra said quietly. "But Diamonique cannot fight you back in this case, Jaden. If you intended to kill her in honorable combat, I would not contest it. But she cannot even defend herself now, and it just doesn't feel right to me to let someone die like the way that you planned for her. We already have to take enough lives as it is, and Diamonique will surely learn her lesson this time."  
  
"Learn her lesson? Yes, Diamonique is just going to learn her lesson and be a good little girl now on who's gonna be your best friend and 'pologize to you for trying to bump you off. And while she's doing that, Frieza's gonna grant everyone their freedom from him, and Dodoria's gonna fit into a pair of size eight pants, and Balair's gonna to become a homo and vow to give up women forever. And Captain Ginyu's gonna be a college professor, and Jeice is gonna fall in love with Balair and give up women forever as well. And Eclipse is gonna decide that she really prefers women over men. And the Saiyans are gonna quit being warriors and end their feud with the Astorians. And King Vegeta's gonna leave his wife for Superior Gran Shalila Chloe of Astoria. And you and Zarbon are gonna-"  
  
"All right, I see your point. Yes, I agree that there is no reason to really spare Diamonique's life. But we don't know what she has gone through in her life to become what she is; she may have been in the same painful situations that you and I have been in our lives, Jaden. What if someone had hurt her the way that others have hurt us? We don't know anything about her past before she came to Frieza. I know that you both have told me that she is a noblewoman of the most important tribe on Gemstar, but a glided life doesn't necessarily mean a happy one. Plus, she is strong, and she could make a useful comrade, even if she is treacherous. Jaden, we can't allow ourselves to become any more like Frieza than what we are now."  
  
"We're already like him now."  
  
"She does have a point there, Chestra," Zarbon told her. "And how can we be sure that Diamonique won't try to harm you again?"  
  
"We can't, at least not one hundred percent. But we can always threaten to tell Frieza on her. And I promise you two personally that if Diamonique ever tries anything like she did again, I won't stand in the way of any punishment that you wish to dispense on her. I will even help you. This is the one and only time I will take mercy on her, even though she doesn't deserve it. But if we allow her to die like Jaden wants her to do, we would be no better than her." Chestra took a deep breath and turned to Jaden. Her next words were hard to say, but she said them anyway, "Jaden, would you please reverse your Glass Freeze attack on her and allow her to come back to her natural form?"  
  
Jaden's eyes bulged out to the point of nearing popping out of their sockets. "Chestra, were you hit hard on the head on your assignment here? Are you missing a few brain cells? I've heard that the Avarani are experts in chemical warfare."  
  
"Jaden, please reverse your attack. I know that you can do it."  
  
"Hell no!"  
  
"Jaden," Chestra said as sternly as possible. "Please reverse your attack."  
  
"Now see here-" Jaden began icily, and the two women looked at each other. Jaden tried to stare her younger friend down with the fiercest expression possible. For just a nanosecond, Chestra wished that she had not been so insistent in urging Jaden to reverse her Glass Freeze attack, as Jaden's deadly glare penetrated her soul. But she could not yield on this issue, not even to her best friend. She met Jaden's eyes squarely with her own, with no fear now. Jaden continued to try to stare her down, but finally her eyes began to turn away, and her expression softened slightly, just a smidge. Chestra saw these gestures, and the younger Elite fighter knew that she had won. Jaden was acquiescing, and Chestra could see a new respect in the stern Rybanese warrior's eyes.   
  
Jaden turned her back on Chestra, and she fired a silvery stream of light from her hand. Within seconds, the glass form of Diamonique melted into flesh and blood, and the shivering girl was back to her natural self.  
  
"What happened to me?" Diamonique squeaked, as she looked at herself, once again able to move. She then noticed Chestra, who was now alive and well, although still recovering from Jaden's "surgery".   
  
"She's still alive?" Chestra's archenemy, as well as archrival, gasped.  
  
"Yes, Diamonique," Chestra said quietly. "I am, and I intend to live."  
  
"How-how did you survive? Are you immortal?" Diamonique cried out in horror, clearly unhappy about Chestra's recovery.  
  
"Jaden saved me," Chestra told her evenly. "I owe her my life." She said gently to Jaden. "Jaden, forgive me, but I never did thank you for saving my life. I thank you now for saving me."  
  
"We wouldn't know what we'd have done without you," Zarbon acknowledged.  
  
"No prob," Jaden told them gruffly; she was not used to being thanked. "No biggie."  
  
"No biggie?" Chestra exclaimed.  
  
"That's what I mean. Uncle Nykan taught me a few useful things during the infrequent visits that I had with him. He knew quite a few things about first aid."  
  
Diamonique looked over at Chestra again, and her fury increased. She clenched her fists; how dare "Chesty" live? How dare Jaden save her? She knew that Zarbon was there, but the Gemstarian noblewoman decided that she was going to finish her archrival off once and for all.   
  
Without thinking of her actions, Diamonique pushed past Jaden and flew towards Chestra, determined to slash whatever body part on her that her sharp claw-like nails could reach.  
But before she could attack her prey, Jaden lashed out at Diamonique, backhanding her across her lovely face. Diamonique fell back against the ground, stunned, as her slender back hit the ground. Jaden wasted no time in grabbing Diamonique's slim throat, as she thrust her angry alligator-like face into Diamonique's, and the Gemstarian warrior's black-gem eyes widened in genuine fear. She didn't fear Chestra, but she did fear Jaden, a woman well known to kill someone just for annoying her.  
  
"Listen, you little murderous, treacherous little slut!" Jaden roared. "If you EVER, and I mean EVER try to attack her again, or even think of killing her, the next time I turn you into glass will be the last 'cause I'll break you into pieces right afterwards, do you understand me?"   
Diamonique's peach-blue skin paled, as she slowly nodded. She normally didn't give in to anyone right away, but in this case, she wisely yielded to someone who could almost kill her just by looking at her.  
  
"Chestra," Jaden told Diamonique coldly, as she still held the Gemstarian girl's throat, "spoke for you. If it weren't for her, I would have kept you a glass statue and broke you into fragments, like I should have done. She was far more merciful towards you than I would have been, and I hope after today she isn't again. Now tell her you're sorry, you foul little wench!"  
  
Diamonique quickly muttered a hasty apology to Chestra, and Chestra replied with a curt nod.   
Jaden finally allowed Diamonique to rise to her feet, and then she decided that it was time to get back to business.   
  
Pushing past Diamonique, she told the others gruffly, "Don't we still have a planet to clear? Let's get this job over with."  
  
"That's Jaden," Zarbon said wryly. "All work and no play."  
  
"I know how to stick to business, lover boy," Jaden grunted. "Now let's go. There are a few Avarani folks that I would like to say a fond, well not really fond, farewell to."  
  
And with no more words, Jaden, watching Diamonique closely, and the others slowly followed behind her. Diamonique coldly watched Chestra, but she dared not attack the other girl out of fear of Jaden's wrath.  
  
Chestra and Zarbon nestled against each other, as they walked out the door closely together, so close that it would have taken a sword to separate them.  
  
A/N: Yes, I know what you are thinking: why was Diamonique allowed to live? Even if I had wanted to kill her off, I couldn't right now. This story is a prequel to "Tayla of Astoria", and anyone who's read that story as well can understand as to why Diamonique didn't die in this story.  
  
This story's almost near its end now; one or two more chapters, and I will be done with this one. I'd like to thank all of my fans and friends who've been keeping up with this story, and I'm glad that you all have enjoyed it (and hopefully still are).  
  
Next chapter concerns Ginyu and Balair's bet about Chestra. It's already partially written, so be ready for some hijniks from those two in the next chapter when they're forced to carry out their bet.  
  
See you for now. 


	21. Chapter Twenty-One: Here Comes The Men I...

(After reading this chapter, you will never think of Balair or Captain Ginyu in the same way again. And yes, the songs that follow are awful; they're meant to be because neither Balair or Ginyu are great composers. Enjoy--and maybe you'll get a few laughs.)  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-One: Here Comes The Men In Drag  
  
Three months later...  
  
"Welcome, welcome, everyone to my Biannual Full Staff Meeting, Fair, and Banquet!" Frieza purred to his audience of thousands of warriors, medical staff members, scientists, doctors, technicians, and anyone else who worked from him. Frieza was standing on the stage surveying his vast audience from his podium in the auditorium. He shouted happily (as happily as possible for a cruel tyrant like himself), "Let the festivities begin! And everyone, don't forget our Full Staff Meeting in two hours. Whether you are the highest Top Elite official to the lowest janitor scraping bubble gum off of the chairs, I expect you to be there. No excuses; everyone knows that this meeting is mandatory. I don't care if you are dying, or if your Aunt Gulp is getting married on Planet Belch to Prince Flatulence and has threatened to feed you to her pet Farting Fartknocker if you don't show up there. Be here--or be dead!"  
  
Everyone laughed because they knew Frieza expected them to, but a short, skinny, orange male praying mantis-like alien moaned, "I'm done for! I promised my Aunt Gulp that I'd be there--even if I had to risk death from Lord Frieza! Oh, sweet Kami, I don't know which death would be worst--Lord Frieza's disintergrating me, or Aunt Gulp's Farting Fartknocker devouring me before he farts on me to add flavor. Aunt Gulp fed my sister, Poot, to that beast because she didn't attend Aunt Gulp's one hundred and fiftieth birthday party! I'm doomed!"  
  
A white octopus alien with twenty arms and large, violet, soulful eyes patted the insectoid alien's back in sympathy with one of her numerous appendages. She then whispered, "Well, for once I'm thankful that Lord Frieza eliminated my entire race, for this was the day of my grandfather's wedding anniversary, and he ate seventeen of my fifty siblings when they failed to show up at his parties to celebrate. Whew! Good thing because I hated going to those parties!"  
  
Everyone, from Head Commander Zarbon, to Arby, the blue, six-eyed round janitor who cleaned the toilets, were there. Tipsy, the popular bartender for the Elite Lounge And Bar on Frieza's mother ship, was serving everyone drinks, and he was now having Dodoria stand near him for protection because he had ran out of supplies to make Crystal Blue Persuasion, the favorite drink of the Elite. Tipsy prayed to any Kamis around that his employees would bring in the fruit and juices necessary to create the popular drink soon before the crowd became restless.  
  
Frieza suddenly spoke up, "One moment please before all of you are dismissed to enjoy the festivities. My father, King Cold, wishes to make a speech." He and King Cold both ignored the groans, veiled and unveiled, of the minions. Frieza himself had to keep from groaning, for he hated his father's long speeches, as much as any of his minions.  
  
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen," King Cold told his captive audience primly. The tall Iceins's head touched the ceiling, with his long horns scraping marks in the ceiling, as he turned. "As you well know, I am sure, we have conquered almost all of the Bukata Galaxy, and one-quarter of the Rosetta. The Milky Way Galaxy has one-quarter of it conquered, and while those results are good, they could be better. We are looking to be entering the Starkan Galaxy next, and if any of you are from that part of the universe..."  
  
Balair was standing backstage behind the grand, purple, velvety curtains of the stage where King Cold was making his long, dull speech. He licked the blood off of his hand, the hand that he used to punch one of King Cold's guards in the face when the guard had tried to stop him from stealing the silvery-pink glittering dress that Balair was now wearing. The dress was low-cut, with a V neckline, ankle-length, with two slits up each side. The entire Ginyu Force was also backstage, teasing Balair and giving him a hard time.  
  
Baata wolf-whistled, "Balair, you look hot! That dress looks better on you than it did on King Cold's concubine, Izri!"  
  
Jeice added, "Hey, Bali, when's your birthday? I'll buy you shoes to match!"  
  
Guido chuckled, then he foolishly patted Balair on his tail. "Hey, Bali! When can we go on a date? I'll buy you this sterling silver necklace that I saw--"  
  
Balair responded by slamming his huge fist into Guido's four-eyed face. When the Sistrai warrior had retrieved his fist, Guido's face had a huge concave dent in the center where his nose had once been sticking out. His four eyes were sunken into his flesh. Guido emitted a small groan, for he could not cry aloud because his mouth had literally been shoved into his throat.  
  
"Anyone else want to comment?" Balair roared.  
  
"I do!" Ginyu sang merrily. He had just joined the rest of his team.   
  
"Like you have any room to talk, Ginyu!" Balair growled. "Has anyone told you that you look like something that Jaden puked up when you wear yellow--especially that bright sunshiny yellow. Bleck!" Ginyu blushed purple for he was wearing a silky yellow dress with a red sash and pink flowers on the sash. Ginyu had used a less violent method of procuring the dress than Balair did for his; he had simply sweet-talked the concubine, Shina, into it, promising her a spot on the Ginyu Girls, if King Cold would allow her.  
  
"Yeah, well, Bali, has anyone told you that redheads shouldn't wear pink?" Ginyu demanded to know.  
  
"And has anyone told you that you aren't supposed to wear white shoes after Labor Day?" Balair sneered. Labor Day among Frieza's forces was different than the Labor Day on Earth, for their Labor Day was the most violent day of the year, with Frieza's minions trying to conquer as many planets as possible before the sun went down on planet Ice.  
  
Ginyu scowled. "I happen to think that these white leather alligator pumps look good on me! Especially with the cute shiny pink bows! What do you think, men?" The other Force members groaned loudly and fell over backwards.  
  
Dodoria wandered backstage then, announcing, "Hey, guys! Tipsy's people finally brought the fruits and juices needed to make Crystal Blue Persuasion, so we'll finally have our favorite drink. And also--what the HELL is going on here? Bali and Ginyu, why are you wearing those dresses?"  
  
The Ginyu Force members abruptly jumped back up.  
  
Baata laughed. "Our good Captain and your best friend both lost their little bet concerning which one of them would get Chestra into bed first. Unfortunately, our fearless leader, Zarbon, bedded her first, so both of them now have to wear these dresses at the Biannual. Bali has to dance around Frieza and King Cold and Ginyu has to recite a love poem to a male Elite Officer."  
  
Guido, after rearranging his own face back into its proper shape, whispered to Dodoria, "Personally, I think that Bali looks better in his dress than our Captain does, although, I don't that pair of sparkly electric blue panty hose of Bali's match his dress..."  
  
Dodoria gave everyone a strange look. "Well, as long as Ginyu doesn't recite that love poem to me, I don't care. Heh, I feel for both of you, and those dresses don't look too bad on you guys either."  
  
Ginyu said happily, "Why thank you, Dodoria!"   
  
Balair growled at his closest friend, "Dodoria, do you have a death wish?"  
  
Dodoria laughed. "Not tonight, and you don't want to try to kill me right now anyway. Wouldn't want to see you mess up your new gown; it does look gorgeous on you." He then whispered to Guido, "I do agree with you about the panty hose, however; that bright electric blue is not Bali's color."  
  
Balair heard him and snarled, "Hey, you try finding queen-size hose to fit a king-size body at the last minute! It was either these or Eclipse's expandable gold fishnet stockings and garter!"  
  
The entire Ginyu Force perked up. "Eclipse has gold fishnet stockings and a garter?" they all asked.  
  
"How come we never saw them?" Reccoom wanted to know.  
  
"Personally, Bali, I think the gold fishnets would have worked better with that dress," Jeice said.  
  
Balair glowered at Jeice, but then he looked down at his hose and said thoughtfully, "Hmm...you know, Jeice, maybe you're right."  
  
Ginyu said finally, with a grin, "Okay, Bali, you go first!"  
  
Balair hissed, "Why should I go first? You go first!"  
  
Ginyu said, "The one who looks better in drag should go first, and I think that's you, Balair."  
  
Balair glared at Ginyu. "Dodi's right; blue is not my color. The colors that you are wearing look good on you, Ginyu, so you should go first."  
  
"I'll rock, paper, and scissors you for it!" Ginyu told him.  
  
"Fine," Balair agreed. They played rock, paper, and scissors, but both of them wound up with scissors three times. Balair growled, "Why don't we both just go first and get this over with!"  
  
Ginyu sighed reluctantly, "Works for me...although the Ginyu Girls will never let me live this one down. Eclipse has already offered to lend me her sleeveless sheer pink silk dress and her seven-inch glass slippers with the electric currents running throughout the shoes the next time I have to dress in drag."  
  
Dodoria jested, "Make you sure you ask about the gold fishnets, Ginyu!  
  
"I've got dibs on those first!" Balair shouted. All of his comrades looked at him oddly. Balair grumbled, "Never mind; let's just go and get this over with! Jaden will never let me live this down!"  
  
Baata chuckled. "I've heard that Jaden has volunteered to take you lingerie shopping next week, Bali! She saw a nice hot pink teddy that she thought would look good on you--"  
  
Balair's quick ki blast, which barely missed Baata's head, shut up the Ginyu Force Squad member in a heartbeat.  
  
King Cold was still in the middle of his long, tedious speech. "And let me add, ladies and gentlemen that the technology that we took from planet Hornswaggle is excellent, almost rivaling ours! The Hornswaggi people have this device that would allow you to compute figures in the trillions within nanoseconds..."  
  
At that inopportune moment, Balair begin to twirl onto the stage, dancing Ginyu's infamous Dance of Joy. Balair leapt gracefully into the air (as gracefully as possible for a bulky, muscular Sistrai warrior)--and landed on top of the long-winded King Cold. Balair was now perched in between King Cold's horns.  
  
The entire assembly forgetting their fear of King Cold and boredom with his speech, burst into laughter when they saw Commander Balair resting on top of King Cold's head between his horns. King Cold's eyes looked up at Balair slowly. He was obviously not pleased.  
  
"Exactly what is the meaning of this, Balair?" he asked, as his audience continued to laugh and laugh.  
  
"We love your hat, King Cold!" someone called out.  
  
"Where can I get one like it?" another person added.  
  
"Hey, Commander Balair, I love the dress!" a female purple alien with yellow hair and ten feet shouted.  
  
Several aliens wolf-whistled at Balair. Balair nearly decimated the three of them with a quick ki blast. No one dared to make fun of Balair's ensemble for a few minutes.  
  
King Cold's concubine, Izri screamed, "Hey, that's my dress!"  
  
Atara, another one of King Cold's concubines, who was jealous of Izri, "The dress looks better on Commander Balair than it does you!"  
  
"Who asked you?" Izri hissed.  
  
"Isn't Commander Balair a hunk?" Cana cooed. "Even when he's dressed in drag, he looks good! I like him almost as much as our King!"  
  
"I don't think that you want Commander Balair, Cana," Rey, a fourth concubine, said. "I've heard that he's mean to women."  
  
"I still think he looks good and hot!" Cana insisted. "It's not many men in Lord Frieza's forces that look good in a pink and silver dress."  
  
"He does look awful in bright blue hose though," Simi, a fifth concubine. "Yet the silver in the dress does become him."  
  
"Well, Balair?" King Cold wanted to know.  
  
Balair stammered, "Umm...well...it's time to sing my song." He cleared his throat and the tone-deaf warrior begin to sing the Song of Joy off-key:  
  
"Oh, happy, happy, joy, joy,  
I feel just like a little boy!  
Spring is here, and I'm so cheery;   
I feel as happy as a bright new berry!  
I am so young, so cute, so free!  
I'll fly 'round like a bumblebee!  
Oh, how I love pretty flowers, a violet, a tulip and a rose,  
Oh, what wonderful things they do to my nose!  
I love cute fuzzy bunnies and cuddly birdies!  
They're just too lovable for wordies!  
I'm so happy, so joyful, so carefree!  
Come sing the Song of Joy with me!"  
  
The entire audience fell over backwards, some laughing, some staring at the normally macho, sexist Balair in total disbelief. Jaden, who had been sipping her fourth Crystal Blue Persuasion at the bar, nearly choked on her drink when she heard Balair sing that song.  
  
Chestra, snuggled in a corner with Zarbon, laughed softly. "I will never think of Balair in the same way again!"  
  
Zarbon sighed, "Neither will I, especially if Lord Frieza and King Cold wind up incinerating him for this. I never thought that I would hear Balair sing that awful song!"  
  
Chestra continued to laugh, and her laughter brought a smile to her lover's face. "Captain Ginyu may be a great choreographer, but he's no lyricist!"  
  
Zarbon grinned. "If I ever sing that song like Balair did, sweetheart, will you promise to have Katsen examine my head?"  
  
Chestra laughed still. "It's a promise!"  
  
At that moment, poor Captain Ginyu flew out onto the stage while King Cold was prying Balair off of his head. Captain Ginyu gulped, for he and the other Force members had chosen the male Elite officer for him to "declare his love to" by drawing names out of a helmet. Ginyu looked like he wanted to cry, for it was Balair who had composed this poem. He sighed; Balair was a worst lyricist than he was. He looked mournfully into the audience and recited slowly:  
  
  
"How do I love thee, my little boy lover?  
You make my heart beat like no other!  
I want to jump your bones and stroke your body  
As soon as we each down a hot toddy!  
You make me shake, you make me sweat!  
I'll get you in bed, wanna bet?  
I moan and groan everytime I think of you!  
Just the thought of not boning you makes me blue!  
So come say you'll pleasure me tonight!  
Oh, I'll that you'll make me feel good alright!  
So come tell me that you'll be my man..."  
  
  
  
Ginyu gulped loudly, as he recited the last verse, "To get you in my bed, BALAIR, is part of my plan!"  
  
"WHAT?" Balair snarled, while everyone in the audience laughed louder than ever before. "You're dead, Ginyu!"  
  
Ginyu decided to get the next part over with as soon as possible. He began dancing his Dance of Love around Balair (who was now standing on the floor again) and King Cold. Ginyu pirouetted and twirled about on his toes, leaping gracefully around Balair and tiptoeing to him to get closer. He hesitantly ignored Balair's deadly glare, as he quickly threw himself upon his "intended".  
  
Balair hissed, "Ginyu, I'm warning you! If you do this, I'll--"  
  
Ginyu allowed himself to grin then. He'd be humiliated, but then so would be Balair. "You did say that this last part was part of the bet, Bali! So enjoy!" And he kissed Balair full on the lips right in front of everyone.  
  
King Cold fell over backwards, causing the entire stage and ground to shake. Jaden was rolling on the floor, laughing so hard that tears ran down her reptilian face.  
  
She called out, "Hey Bali, when's the wedding? Can I be your maid of honor?"  
  
King Cold, who had pulled himself off of the stage floor with Frieza's help, was furious. "Frieza, is this what normally goes on at your meetings?"  
  
Frieza stammered, for although he was the most heinous tyrant in the universe, he couldn't always tell off his father as much as he would like, "No-no, Father, not usually! Balair and Ginyu must be both very ill today."  
  
King Cold grumbled, "I believe that they are ill alright--as in the head. And these two are in Top Elite?"  
  
"Ginyu was your idea, Father," Frieza retorted.  
  
"Where is your Head Commander when these shenanigans are going on?" King Cold wanted to know.  
  
Frieza's eyes quickly scanned the audience for his Head Commander, and he found him snuggling in a corner with Chestra, both lovers laughing so hard that the tears flowed down their faces. He tapped his scouter and called through it, "Zarbon, get over here immediately and do something with these two fools before I decimate them!"  
  
Zarbon's voice stammered back through the scouter, "Yes, yes, sire, of course. Right away!"  
  
Coola, who had joined King Cold and Frieza by then, chuckled, "Your meetings amuse me, little brother! I should hire a few of your Elite officers for my forces--as circus clowns!"  
  
Frieza growled at his "perfect" older brother. Why couldn't idiotic things like what had happened to him today ever happen to Coola? Coola's officers never gave their leader the grief and embarrassment that Frieza's officers frequently gave him. Frieza hissed under his breath, for he hated it when Coola referred to him as "little brother".  
  
Coola patted Frieza's back companionably. "Don't worry, little brother. If you demote Ginyu and Balair after today, you can always keep them as court jesters!"  
  
Frieza said evenly, "Assuming I even allow those fools to live. Balair and Ginyu, come here now! I demand a full explanation for this fiasco immediately!" Both officers slowly crept over to their leader, as if walking to the gas chambers.  
  
When they had finally reached Frieza, Ginyu stammered, "Well, sire, it begin with this crazy bet that Bali and I had going--"  
  
Frieza narrowed his eyes. "And exactly what did this bet involve?"  
  
Balair gulped. "Do you promise not to kill us, if we tell you?"  
  
Frieza grumbled. "Depends on what kind of mood that I am in after your explanation, Balair."  
  
Balair, the more nervy of the pair, whispered, "We were betting on which one of us would get--"  
  
"BURP! WHERE ARE YOU?" A giant praying mantis-like woman the same height as King Cold stomped into the auditorium. All of the stage's occupants turned towards the strange orange woman.  
  
The praying mantis-like male cried out loud, "Oh no, Aunt Gulp! I can explain as to why I wasn't at your wedding--"  
  
"You can explain alright!" Aunt Gulp cried. "To my Farting Fartknocker! Let's go, Burp!" Her nephew began to frantically run away from her.  
  
"What is going on here?" King Cold wanted to know.  
  
Coola sighed, "Father, I think that this is one of those things that we are better off not asking about."  
  
Frieza turned from them to say coolly to Balair and Ginyu, "Now what did this bet involve?"  
  
Balair began to chuckle nervously. "Oh, Lord Frieza, you're going to laugh when you hear about this stupid bet that Ginyu and I had going! We both had the hots for Chestra, right? Right. Well anyway, Ginyu and I both wanted to screw--I mean date her, and so we...um...well, Ginyu can explain this better than I ever could."  
  
Ginyu muttered, "No thanks, Bali, this is your show."  
  
"The hell if it is! You're just as involved as I am, Ginyu! Now, Ginny, don't you have somethin' to tell our beloved Lord Frieza?"  
  
"No way, Bali, I think you ought to be the one to tell him."  
  
"Why don't you both just tell me?" Frieza growled. "What you two fools have to confess to can't be any worse than this circus you two performed today! You'll be lucky if you both are allowed to keep all of your limbs! Now just tell me and get it over with."  
  
Balair and Ginyu both had a horrible feeling that Frieza was not going to be pleased to hear the real reason as to why they had acted the way they did earlier. They didn't know why Frieza would honestly care as to who screwed Chestra, but they suspected that they would not get off easily. Their subordinate senses told them they were in for it, no matter what. Finally, both men took a deep breath each, and finally Balair said quickly and bluntly, trying to laugh to cover his nervousness, "Ginyu and I were betting on who would get Chestra into bed first, and we kept trying to court her and stuff, doing everything possible to get her to like us. But Zarbon beat us to the punch and popped her before either one of us could..."  
  
"...So, we had made this dumb bet with each other concernin' cross dressin' and singin' songs and stuff, sire. So no biggie really, sire. It was just a girl that led us to do these things. You know how hot Chestra is, sire, and you wanted to screw her yourself at one time, from what Bali has told me. Actually, from what I heard, you did try to screw her, but Zarbon got to be her first. We were as disappointed as you were, sire, for Bali and I each wanted her for ourselves."  
  
Frieza's face was expressionless for a few seconds, and then finally, he said as coolly and evenly as possible, "So you both betted on an innocent young woman and tried to get her into bed. Were either one of you serious about her, or were you two just planning to use her?"  
  
His voice was so cool, so silky, and yet it carried such a deadly undertone that Ginyu and Balair shrank back in fear.  
  
"Were you serious about her, gentlemen, or were you two planning to use her and cast her aside like one of the Ginyu Girls or one of my father's concubines?"  
  
Ginyu flushed slightly. "Well, sire, I'll confess: Bali and I weren't actually thinking beyond getting to be her first man."  
  
Balair gulped, as he added, "Um...yes, both of us had mainly just wanted to get her into bed, nothing more. But we've done that with plenty of sweet young things, and Chestra is just another pretty little girl with a great body and cute face. She's just one of many beauties, just a sweet female for our pleasure, nothing more."  
  
Balair saw the deadly glare on Frieza's face, and Frieza snarled at him, "You and Ginyu both disgust me! If you two fools ever come near her again, or even thinking of seducing her or using her, I will castrate both of you, and you two clowns will each have to pee through a straw for the rest of your pathetic lives, understand? Do not bother the girl again!"  
  
Balair and Ginyu trembled under Frieza's menacing stare. Ginyu dared to stammer, "S-sire, pardon me, but what is Chestra to you now? You've already agreed to let Zarbon have her; why'd you give her up?"  
  
"Yea-yeah," Balair agreed. "Wh-why does she still mean anything to you?"  
  
"That is none of your concern," Frieza told both men icily. "When I say not to touch or bother her again, that is what I mean. If I hear that you two did otherwise and upset that poor girl, you two will wish that you both were dead, is that clear? Now both of you get out of my sight before I change my mind about letting you two slimeballs live!"  
  
In the distance, Burp screamed, "SOMEONE SAVE ME!"  
  
While the three most dangerous warlords in the universe were watching poor Burp running from Aunt Gulp, Balair and Ginyu wisely used that time to slip away unnoticed. Who ever thought that Lord Frieza would still care that much about a young girl, especially one that he wasn't screwing? Did Frieza still have plans for Chestra, and if so, what? It no longer mattered at this point; Balair and Ginyu were well content to obey their liege's orders. Chestra was beautiful with nice curves, but she was not worth risking their lives for. Neither one of them were about to pull a Zarbon. Both were gone from the area before Zarbon arrived; when the head commander did, Frieza coolly sent him back to Chestra with a final warning that he better treat Chestra right. Zarbon assured him calmly that he did not need to worry about that.  
  
"Let's hope so," Frieza said edgily, as Zarbon began to leave to back to Chestra.  
  
After that disasterous day, neither Balair nor Ginyu made a play for Zarbon's new mate again. Strangely enough, both of them remained chaste for the next couple of months.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: Heh, heh, Balair and Ginyu finally got what was coming to them--sort of. At any rate, they will definitely move on to other women (Kami help those poor ladies!).  
  
Final chapter should be up sometime this week, if not tomorrow. I'm sad to end this story, but in a way, I'm relieved too--this is one of the few stories that I ever started that I actually am able to complete, or even come close.   
  
Thanks again to everyone who has been keeping up with this story and enjoying it. I know that there are few out there that don't approve of how I've been writing this story, but when most of your reviews are good, that's not really that bad. Yes, I do happen to remember a particularly nasty flame calling this story the "worst Mary Sue in history...you suck...okay." (That was up before I deleted it, most of you probably never even saw it. I probably should have gone on and left it up there, but I didn't. Good thing it was anonymous; fanfiction.net doesn't let you remove reviews from signed reviewers.) Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and since most people who have reviewed this story have liked it, I am not going to concern myself too much with a nasty review or two. Not everyone's going to like the same thing, and if you don't like a story, then don't read it; it's the same as watching a TV show that you don't like.  
  
For those of you who haven't read "Tayla of Astoria" yet, I highly recommend it if you want to see more of Frieza's crew in action. Chestra and Zarbon don't have a big part in that story as they did in this one, but still they are there and they are still together. It's a long story, but I hope that you'll find it worthwhile, even if it does take you a month or so to read it.  
  
Gooden boden fro noy (goodbye for now in Astorian). 


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two: Facing Reality

Chapter Twenty-Two: Facing Reality  
  
One year later…  
  
Chestra had just turned twenty; she had been working for Frieza for almost two years now. She and Zarbon were still together, happy as ever, as happy as they could be under Frieza's reign, and they had been trying to conceive a child. Dr. Katsen had told her that it was possible for her to conceive, and that she and Zarbon were reproductively compatible together, but so far, Chestra and Zarbon had been unable to create any offspring between them.   
  
Both of them were surprised that Frieza had no objections to them having children; Frieza was well known to be particular about which of his minions were permitted to produce offspring. He always feared that his minions would one day produce a child stronger than he was, and he had put "no-procreation" orders on certain warriors of powerful races, such as the Saiyans, forbidding them from producing children ever.   
  
Chestra, who was on her way to see Jaden in the training rooms, reflected on Dr. Katsen's recent advice: wait and think more before having children. He had bluntly told her that maybe her inability to conceive was the result of fate. She remembered their last conversation just before she left his office.  
  
"Officer Chestra, are you and Head Commander Zarbon absolutely certain that you two want to have children?"  
  
"I love children, Dr. Katsen, and I have always dreamed of having a few little ones of my own. I'd love to have a little boy who looks just like Zarbon."  
  
Dr. Katsen had sighed sadly at Chestra's happy words. "Officer Chestra, let me ask you an honest question: are you completely happy working for and serving Lord Frieza?"  
  
"I've been in worse situations in my lifetime, Dr. Katsen."  
  
"I won't go to Lord Frieza about this conversation, if that is what concerns you, Officer."  
  
Chestra had sighed herself. "Very well, Dr. Katsen. No, I don't always like destroying lives needlessly, but my life could have turned out to be worse. Here in Frieza's forces, I have the man I love and good friends, plus a comfortable position and a decent place to eat and sleep. This life is luxurious to someone who has lived as a slave for most of her life, and I have been on planets and in situations where I was starved or beaten because I refused a man's advances or rebelled. I am fortunate not to have been raped during that time. I am not thrilled to still be doing Lord Frieza's dirty work, but other than that, I am content with my present situation."  
  
Dr. Katsen had to ask another question, as Chestra had sat in front of his huge, dark, imposing desk. He had said, "If Lord Frieza were to give you the option of leaving his forces, would you take it?"  
  
Chestra said honestly, "I-I don't know, Doctor. I wouldn't want to leave Zarbon or Jaden, and besides, where would I go? I don't have a home planet to go to, nor do I even know what race or races I am descended from. Lord Frieza's army is the closest thing to a home and family that I have had since being sent away from planet Ghetti. It's not as if Lord Frieza would ever grant me that freedom to leave anyway, so the point is moot."  
  
Dr. Katsen had grown quiet then. Finally, he spoke again, "Let me ask you this, Officer: would you want your child to be doing what you are doing now-clearing entire planets of their populations or executing so-called 'troublemakers' at Lord Frieza's command. Do you want any child of yours following in your footsteps?"  
  
He had became quiet, as had Chestra, and he sat back in his gray leather chair, allowing Chestra a few moments to think. Chestra had closed her eyes and lowered her head, as if she was falling asleep, but she wasn't. She thought carefully about Dr. Katsen's words, thinking how she would truly feel to see any child of hers and Zarbon growing up to becoming a killer like his or her parents.  
  
Finally, she had opened her pale green eyes, and tears had been dangling near the rims. She had whispered chokingly, "No. I don't want my child living the life Zarbon and I are living now."  
  
Dr. Katsen had nodded, and he finally had said calmly, "So, do you think that it would be fair to bring a child into this sort of world?"  
  
Chestra had shaken her head, and then she had fallen upon Dr. Katsen's desktop and wept bitterly for several minutes, with her entire body shaking. Dr. Katsen had patted her head comfortingly, as if she had been a little girl. When she had calmed down, Dr. Katsen had continued:  
  
"Do you wish for my honest opinion, Officer?"  
  
Chestra could only nod.  
  
"I think that you and Head Commander Zarbon should think very carefully before you two think of having children, if you don't wish for them to live the life that you two are living now. I cannot control whether you two have children or not, but I can strongly advise against it at this time. I advise soldiers in your situation every day against having children, and that is because many soldiers, particularly ones that have been bought as slaves or forced as involuntary recruits to work for Lord Frieza, do not wish for their children to serve our master. I do not blame them, or you. I know that you and Head Commander Zarbon understandably want to complete your lives with children, and I believe that you both would have made good parents under different circumstances. In this circumstance, I strongly urge against parenthood for you two."  
  
"Think about it, Officer; what if any child of yours and Head Commander Zarbon's grows up to become more powerful than Lord Frieza? Lord Frieza would automatically consider that innocent creature to be a threat to his reign, and he would likely have him or her destroyed. Also, what if one day, your child decides not to follow in your and Head Commander Zarbon's footsteps? Would Lord Frieza permit your child to make that decision? And what if your child one day refused to follow Lord Frieza's orders or displeased him or her so greatly as for Lord Frieza to beat or possibly kill him or her? Would you and your mate be able to live with those possibilities?"  
  
Chestra had shaken her ruby-and-emerald head no.  
  
With tears still in her eyes, she whispered, "I-I believe that you right, Doctor. I wanted to be a mother so badly though, and now it can never happen. I wanted to give any children that I had the happy childhood and youth that has been denied me most of my life."  
  
Dr. Katsen had nodded understandingly. "Officer Chestra," he had said gently, "don't despair too much; not even Lord Frieza can live forever, and he is over fifty years old."  
  
"By the time he dies, even if he does, it will surely be too late for me," Chestra had whispered again. "He will outlive all of us, Doctor. It is almost as if he's immortal."  
  
"Not even Lord Frieza's race is immortal, Officer. And remember that you are not the only one under Lord Frieza's command who would not mourn his death. There are many in your situation who would rather not work for him."  
  
Chestra had looked at Dr. Katsen carefully, realizing that he was right. Dr. Katsen resembled a dark brown walrus with a huge cat's head; he also had long tusks and humanoid-like muscular arms and hands. She remembered that Jaden had told her that Dr. Katsen himself had not come to Frieza voluntarily; he had been an established doctor on planet Nebulae where Frieza had found him. Frieza had cleared all of Nebulae himself, but he had spared Dr. Katsen because of his vast medical knowledge and skills.   
  
Planet Nebulae, along with planet Astoria, had been reputed for its superb medical knowledge and cures for millions of diseases and treatments for diseases throughout the universe. Some of the Nebulai had been rumored to be fortunate enough to escape to planet Astoria and pass their superior medical knowledge on to the Astorians, but that rumor had never been confirmed. The Nebulai had been a wise, but not a physically strong race, and they had been helpless against Frieza.   
  
Dr. Katsen, one of only fifteen Nebulai people still alive in the Cold Empire, had been working for Frieza for twenty-five years, and once he had reluctantly pledged loyalty to Frieza to survive, his bondage had been a benign one. He had never approved of the things that Frieza would do or have done, but he knew that there was nothing that he could do to stop Frieza from doing what Frieza did best-take innocent lives and ruin or terrorize the ones that he allowed to exist.  
  
Chestra had pitied Dr. Katsen, as well as herself, and with a sad face, she had quietly thanked him, promising to think seriously about what he said, and left.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Now she was near the doorway to leading to the training rooms where Jaden was training Prince Vegeta and Princess Journa of the Saiyan race. She wandered into a dimly lit room where thirteen-year-old Vegeta was pummeling Jaden's face and body with his small, but powerful fists, hoping to damage her, even kill her. The short little prince was merciless with his assaults on Jaden, but Jaden was more than holding up her end of the training session. She rapidly sent Vegeta to the floor with one punch to his angular young face, and Vegeta promptly jumped back up to land his fist into her jaw. Finally Jaden swiped the Saiyan prince away with her meaty arm, and she said, "Enough for this part of the session!"  
  
Vegeta growled, "I will decide when I've had enough! I'm not finished with you yet, woman!"  
  
Whirling on him, Jaden snarled angrily, "What did I tell you about addressing me as 'woman', young man? What are you supposed to address me by?"  
  
Vegeta sulked and cut his eyes at Jaden, but he grumbled, "Commander Jaden." Fifteen-year-old Journa, who was standing nearby, glared heavily at Jaden for talking to her brother that way, but dared not do anything else.   
  
"Good. You do know how to use that brain after all. Now you and your sister spar with each other for twenty minutes, and then we'll have our ki-blasting portion of the section. Don't blow up the room like you two did last time."  
  
"Whatever," Vegeta told her saucily, but Jaden ignored him. She left the two royal siblings to spar with each other, with Vegeta mumbling under his breath about how one day he would rule the universe, and even Jaden would have to bow down to him then. The Rybanese warrior snorted at hearing these words.  
  
She had heard Chestra enter, and she came over to her closest friend on the other side of the room. She glanced back at her students occasionally to ensure that Vegeta was not killing his sister. Vegeta was her best pupil ever, despite his attitude and impertinence, and Jaden was proud of him, even though she would never admit it openly. She knew that Vegeta disliked her, but then whom did Vegeta really like? Jaden tolerated most of his insults and smart remarks because she knew that Vegeta, along with Journa, had a secret and grudging respect for her. She had never called them monkeys or put them down because they were of the Saiyan race, and she had been one of the few of Frieza's minions who had given them condolences on the deaths of their family and people on planet Vegeta.  
  
Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz had failed to clear planet Astoria and capture Princess Tayla of Chloe, and to this day, both still existed and flourished. Frieza had been greatly displeased and angered when he had found out these things, and so he had taken Journa and Vegeta away from their father as a punishment. And as a horrific bonus, Dodoria had heartlessly killed Saiyan Queen Muriella with one mouth blast, right in front of her children and husband.  
  
Some time later, Frieza had destroyed planet Vegeta many months ago with one finger, but to this day, young Vegeta and Journa thought that a meteor had destroyed their home planet. There were times when Jaden, who knew the truth, had been sorely tempted to tell the kids otherwise, but she knew that doing so would be risking their lives and hers. The truth would be a risk to their lives because Vegeta and Journa would be foolish enough right now to try to rebel against Frieza, and it would be a risk to Jaden's life because Frieza would destroy her then and there.  
  
The Rybanese Top Elite officer quietly watched her two students fighting with only a flicker of pity on her unexpressive face. Chestra stood nearby watching them fight, with Vegeta winning successfully against his older sister. Chestra pitied the children for losing their entire race and way of life, and part of her wanted to reach out to them, even though Jaden warned her that they would not accept sympathy or pity from anyone. Journa might have, but Vegeta would have put her down for doing so.  
  
"How are they handling things?" Chestra asked Jaden finally.  
  
"As Saiyans would," Jaden told her. "They don't let their grief or pain show; if they're hurting, they hide it very well. They know how to move on. They're focused entirely on their training now, and that's good. It keeps their mind off of things. As a matter of fact, Vegeta is-hey, boy, don't you dare blow up that ceiling! I don't care if your sister did just blast you from up there! Lord Frieza would have all of our tails, and I'd have to hear his mouth for a week, like I had to when you accidentally blew up half of his office two weeks ago!"  
  
"Fine then," Vegeta told her smoothly, and he proceeded to blow up a couple of stone benches instead. Jaden put her face in her hands and sighed. Chestra permitted herself a mild chuckle.  
  
"He's only thirteen, and he's already a handful," Chestra said ruefully.  
  
"More like a hundred handfuls," Jaden quipped. "He takes up most of my free time now, what little I do have. He's just a kid, but I believe that he may already be ready for his Mid-Evaluation."  
  
"Already? But he's just a child!"  
  
Jaden smirked. "Don't tell him that; the last person who told him spent a few days in the regeneration tanks…I was hoping he'd wind up in the morgue."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"The culprit was Balair. Dodoria had to yank Vegeta off of him; I was disappointed Vegeta didn't kill Bali, but at least the boy broke his tail."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Maybe one day he will," Jaden said, a bit hopefully. "My goal is to one day have a student who will become stronger than Frieza himself, and I believe that Vegeta may be the one who fills that role."  
  
"You know," Chestra pointed out, "that if Vegeta ever reaches that point, he could wind up destroying every one with authority above him, including you. He is a very angry young man, one who will definitely seek revenge against those he feels are oppressing him. Doesn't it worry you that one day Vegeta may turn on you and kill you?"  
  
"Somewhat," Jaden admitted. "But it's a chance I'm more than willing to take. No, Chestra, I don't like the fact that Vegeta may one day wipe me out along with Frieza, Zarbon, and Dodoria. (Yes, Chestra, he does not like Zarbon, and he's threatened him in the past.) But if he does become more powerful than all of us and uses that power, I will have done my job."  
  
"Even if it means losing your life?"  
  
"If Frieza and Dodo and Bali are destroyed along with me, the loss of my life will be worth it."  
  
Chestra felt saddened by Jaden's cryptic remarks, and she looked down on the floor. She was disturbed at these times when Jaden showed little regard for her own life. To Chestra, life was precious and worth taking care of, and it sorrowed her to hear her closest friend vaguely refer to her own death wish. Chestra suddenly wanted to cry at Jaden's occasional lack of a will to live. A tear dangled on the corner of her mint-tinted eye, and observant Jaden immediately noticed.  
  
"Don't get sentimental and sad on me. I'm being realistic, okay? Don't start the waterworks," Jaden scolded her. "I'm not trying to get myself killed; if I had truly wanted to die right away, I would have already killed myself. But I am a warrior, a Rybanese warrior, one of Frieza's Top Elite Officers, and anyone in my position must always be prepared to die."  
  
"I don't like that you feel that you have no reason to live," Chestra rebuked her. "I want to see you happy…to have someone to love, to have something worthwhile, to be doing something worthwhile. I'd like to see us both one day doing something good, something other than taking lives in Frieza's name."  
  
Jaden permitted herself a grim smile, as she watched Vegeta hit Journa in the back of her head. Journa, as plucky as her brother, but not as strong, recovered quickly, turned around and slammed her fist into his nose, causing him to bleed. Vegeta growled ferociously and flung himself on his sister, who barely managed to hold him off with her fists.   
  
Journa had few curves, was small-breasted, and she was stocky, muscular, and taller than Vegeta; there were very few feminine features about her, except for her long eyelashes and short, red hair. Her face was the female version of Vegeta's, with all of his sharp, angular features. She had been reputed to be the strongest female Saiyan on planet Vegeta before planet Vegeta was destroyed. Although her brother far outshone her in fighting technique and brute strength, Journa was more than worthy enough to be one of Vegeta's comrades and sparring partners. Jaden had once heard King Vegeta express his hopes that Journa would become the first female Super Saiyan. The Rybanese warrior, like most of Frieza's soldiers, believed the Super Saiyan legend to be nothing more than a myth, but seeing Journa and Vegeta evenly fight each other gave her a bit of hope that they would someday become more than just "Frieza's lackeys." It also secretly pleased Jaden to know that both Saiyan children fervently hated Frieza, although she scolded them for making disparaging remarks about their despised master. Their hatred of the cruel tyrant too gave Jaden hope.  
  
She told Chestra finally, "I doubt that it will be my generation that will get to be as lucky as to do something other than Frieza's dirty work. Zarbon, Dodoria, Balair, the Ginyu Force, and I will probably die serving Frieza, and then Frieza will forget us the minute that we are sent to the morgue. I don't like taking his abuse and orders any more than many people here do, but there is nothing else left for me out there. I have no family, no friends outside of his army, and not even a home planet to return to. I'm too old to change much, Chestra. But it may not be too late for you."  
  
"You, Vegeta, and Journa are close enough in age to be in the same generation, and it may be you three who will be the ones fortunate enough to find life beyond Frieza's reign of terror. Don't get me wrong; none of you stand a chance against him now, and it will be many years before any of you ever will. But you're still young enough to train hard enough…" Jaden's voice trailed off, and finally deciding that she was getting too "sentimental" for her own good, abruptly cut herself short. She turned from her friend to shout orders at Vegeta and Journa, "Vegeta, Journa, time's up! Time for lunch! We'll resume training again within one hour. And I expect you both to shower before you two get back; I'm not working with any stinky brats."  
  
"Like you smell so sweet yourself," Vegeta retorted. "I haven't known you to smell like any of Frieza's rose gardens lately."  
  
"That's enough out of you!" Jaden barked. "You should consider yourself thankful that it's me that you have to answer to and not Dodo or Bali; they would rip out your tail for half the smart-mouthed things that you say to me. If you ever told them off like you tell me, you'd lose both the tail on your behind and the one in between your legs. Maybe Zarbon's right about you needing a lesson in etiquette."  
  
"Zarbon could use a few lessons in etiquette himself, especially on how to address someone who is royalty," Vegeta snapped, as he and Journa marched past Jaden and Chestra with as much dignity as possible, with their heads held high and their tails wrapped firmly around their trim waists. The two Saiyan children left the room without so much as a goodbye.  
  
"Are the little monkeys giving you grief again, Jaden?"  
  
Chestra nearly jumped five feet off the ground, and Jaden whipped around at the sound of Frieza's cool tone. Chestra slowly landed on the ground again; it had taken her many months to get used to Frieza coming up behind her like that. To this day, she still tensed slightly whenever Frieza came near, but most of the time, she managed to let it show.   
  
Keeping her manner steady, Jaden put a hand on Chestra's shoulder to calm her, as she addressed their liege in an even tone, "No more than usual, Lord Frieza."  
  
Frieza smirked. "You really should beat them more often when they speak to you the way that they do, Jaden. Anyway, it is Chestra that I have come to see. I have a couple of announcements that I would like to tell her personally."  
  
Chestra grew uneasy, and Frieza noticed her tense expression. "Relax, my dear," he said with a rare smile and chuckle. "You still act, as if I am going to make a pass at you. I told you that I wasn't going to interfere with your intimate relationship with Zarbon, or try to separate you two. It's been over a year and a half since that certain…incident between us. When are you going to relax around me?"  
  
Jaden quipped, "Lord Frieza, trying to relax around you is like trying to get Balair to see women as more than life-support systems for vaginas, or like trying to get Dodo to remove his lips from your tail for more than two nanoseconds, or like trying to get Ginyu to-"  
  
"I heard that remark about me, Jaden!" Dodoria growled, coming up behind Frieza. "Now we see where that monkey brat, Vegeta, gets his attitude from! No wonder he thinks that he can smart off to us-because you do it!" He loudly smacked his gum and began to chew it. With his mouth full, he said to Frieza, "Sire, personally, I think that I or Balair or Zarbon ought to take over the training of the monkeys 'cause apparently Vegeta and Journa are learning bad habits from Jaden."  
  
"Vegeta and Journa had those habits long before they were given to Jaden for training," Frieza told him, as his long ribbed tail lifted into the air, accidentally brushing against Dodoria's open mouth. "They are doing fine under Jaden, although Jaden could discipline them more-what is happening to my tail? Dodoria, why are you eating my tail?"  
  
"Mom mot, mire (I'm not, sire)," Dodoria told him with his mouth open-and holding Frieza's tail. Dodoria had been chewing his favorite kind of peanut-butter gum, which was so sticky that it was sometimes used as a substitute for glue, and the gum in his mouth had become stuck to his lips-and Frieza's tail. The tip of Frieza's tail was now fully wedged in Dodoria's huge mouth, and the more that Frieza tried to pull his tail out of Dodoria's mouth, the more the tail and gum stuck together. Dodoria vainly tried to yank Frieza's tail out of his mouth, but that only made things worse, for now the tip of Frieza's tail was coated with peanut-buttery gum, and now Dodoria's mouth was sealed shut around Frieza's tail. When Frieza gave his tail another yank, Dodoria unintentionally sank his teeth into the tip of Frieza's tail, so hard that Frieza screamed.  
  
"DODORIA! LET GO OF MY TAIL NOW!" Frieza roared. "YOU ARE FORBIDDEN EVER TO CHEW GUM AGAIN, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? EVER!"  
  
Dodoria foolishly tried to speak, but when he did, his teeth sank further into Frieza's tail, and Frieza screamed once again. Frieza hid a smile, and Frieza carefully smothered her laughter, as Frieza tried to once again pry his tail out of Dodoria's mouth, but only causing himself more pain. He finally screamed at Frieza and Frieza, "Help me, you two! What are you two standing there for? Get my tail out of his mouth!"  
  
Jaden laughed before she could stop herself, and Frieza screeched, "Frieza, I know that you're not laughing at this! Get over here and help me before I send you to the next dimension!"  
  
Still laughing uncontrollably, Jaden said, "Y-Yes, sire! Right away! C'mon, Chestra!"  
Before they went to help Frieza, they both exchanged sly, amused glances at each other and chuckled. It was moments like this that helped to make life under Frieza more bearable.  
  
"Jaden! Chestra!"  
  
"Coming, Lord Frieza!" 


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three: Bitter And Sweet

**Chestra Chapter Twenty-Three: Bitter And Sweet, a dragon ball z fanfic | FanFiction**

A/N: Final chapter...finally! Ah, I've enjoyed writing this story, but I'm glad to have finally finished at least one of my long stories. Oh, by the way there is a mild lime at the end of this chapter; it was lemon, but I edited it down to lime. If you're over eighteen and prefer the unedited version, you can email at mtsawnya .

Enjoy, and thanks for reading "Chestra"! Hopefully I'll be able to finish Tayla in another month and finally work on "Hope Never Dies" (exists only in my head so far) and "Be Careful For What You Wish For" and "Dragonspaceballs".

Gooden boden fro noy, and thanken!

Sawnya

Chapter Twenty-Three: Bitter And Sweet

Next morning…

"AUGGGHHH! SOMEONE HELP ME! IT'S THE WORST THING IMAGINABLE! HELP!"

And then a sickening plunk to the floor was heard afterwards.  
Chestra and the other Elite minions in the section on Frieza's ship reserved exclusively for Elite officers came dashing out of their rooms. Actually, Chestra had come dashing out of Zarbon's room, where she had spent the night, and Zarbon came running after her, wearing a lacy, green robe that was the same shade as Chestra's eyes. Yes, Zarbon had grabbed Chestra's robe in his dash to see who had been screaming. The others, however, were too busy with what was going on to tease Zarbon about it.

When they came to the end of the Top Elite section of the Elite sleeping quarters, a traumatized Jaden was lying on the floor in front of her bedroom, shaking and crying, and covered in a plain, thin red robe. Her yellow eyes were bulged out much wider than usual, as tears streamed down her alligator-like face. She was mumbling incoherently and sobbing, with her huge blue body shaking violently. Her mouth was hanging agape in shock, and her claws were raking long, deep scars in the metal floor. A puddle of vomit was under her chin. She was biting the doorpost, too much in shock to respond to the rare acts of comfort and sympathy being offered to her.

Captain Ginyu had thrown a patchwork quilt over her shaking body, and Jeice was trying to get Jaden to talk to him. Guido offered her the remains of his midnight snack, but not even the smell of chili and cheese was enough to bring Jaden back to her old self. Baata was patting Jaden's back, and Reccoom was shaking her gently. Even Diamonique was there, offering Jaden water, and this unusual act of courtesy on Diamonique's part was itself a surprise. Dr. Katsen and Frieza were also nearby, kneeling next to Jaden's anguished form.

"Commander Jaden, it's alright now; everything will be alright," Dr. Katsen soothed.

"Jaden, Jaden," Frieza urged in a kindly tone that also shocked everyone. "Come out of this. You're tough; you wouldn't be in my Top Elite, if you were otherwise. It's all right now, Jaden; you're safe. He won't bother you again."

Chestra turned to Zarbon, alarmed, as they ran to Jaden's aid. "Did she have another nightmare about Sagash?" Jaden was known to have a few nightmares about Sagash a year, and these nightmares would put her in such a horrific state that it would take hours, sometimes even days to bring her out of it.

Chestra ran to her best friend's aid, and she knelt next to Jaden, stroking the rough alligator-like head. "Jaden, it's me, Chestra. Are you okay? Did you have a dream about Sagash?"

Zarbon was about to kneel down next to Chestra when he saw someone out of the corner of his eye-and he knew immediately what had upset Jaden so badly. He turned around, careful not to look directly at the cause of Jaden's agony.

A completely naked Dodoria was hiding behind a potted plant, blushing a bright shade of red, as other Elite officers were covering their eyes and throwing sheets of various colors and textures at the fat pink minion, whose huge rolls of fat hung on him like slabs of uncooked beef. Dodoria's unnaturally huge breasts, which were normally restrained by his armor, were now dangling loosely off of his flabby chest, like two partially deflated balloons. Zarbon quickly covered Chestra's eyes when she turned around to see what Zarbon was trying to avoid looking at directly.

"Trust me," he whispered to her, "you don't want to look. You will never be able to sleep at night again."

"Dodoria!" Frieza barked. "Cover yourself up immediately!"

Dodoria meekly covered his massive bulges and dollops of flesh with a blue blanket that Jeice had thrown at him.

"Dodoria!" Frieza growled at his corpulent Top Elite Officer. "What did I tell you before about this?"

Dodoria mumbled, "That I am never to be nude outside of my bedroom."

Zarbon asked Dodoria evenly, trying not to look at him, "Why did you disobey that order?"

"My private toilet was clogged, so I was going to go down the hall to the public restrooms, but I was half asleep when I went outside of my bedroom, and I forgot to put on my robe. And then I realized that I was locked out of my bedroom, and then Jaden just had to come out here-hey, it's not my blasted fault that Jaden picked that time to come out of her room! She could have waited until morning to eat!"

"But it is your fault that you did not cover yourself!" Frieza snapped. "I told you before, Dodoria, to never leave your room without something on! Do you realize what the sight of your naked body did to Jaden? She may never recover from that trauma! Don't you remember what happened last year when those three Low-Levels accidentally saw you nude? Two of them blasted themselves on the spot! You know that the sight of your completely naked body is dangerous to anyone who sees it? Why do you think Eclipse and the other Ginyu Girls make you cover up when they come to see you? And why do you think that the few women who sleep with you insist on doing so in the dark? Zarbon, unlock Dodoria's room immediately and let him in to put a robe on before anyone else sees his flab!"

"Y-Yes, sire!" Zarbon obeyed immediately, as he quickly opened Dodoria's door with his electronic skeleton key, which was like a credit card. Dodoria dashed into his room, and the door closed at once, much to everyone's thankfulness.

Frieza continued to speak soothingly to Jaden, "Jaden, Jaden, he's gone now. Come out of this!"

Chestra rubbed Jaden's head. "Jaden, it's okay now; Dodoria's back in his room. You won't have to see him naked again."

"Jaden, speak to us!" Diamonique commanded. "Say something, anything!"

"Jaden, it's okay. I'm here," Chestra told her friend softly.

Finally, after several tense minutes, Jaden slowly responded, mumbling, "Dodo…nude…nasty sight…so much flab…blubber…made me puke…awful, so awful…all that fat…flopping everywhere, even the thing between his legs…that part of him was…"

"Jaden, don't go on, please," Zarbon begged her. "We get the picture."

"Yes, we do," Diamonique agreed, now wanting to puke herself at the mental image of a nude Dodoria. Suddenly both Reccoom and Guido had sudden excuses to go to the men's room, and off they went. Frieza and Dr. Katsen themselves barely managed to swallow the bile rising in their throats, and Chestra felt faint.

"Dr. Katsen, have a stretcher brought here for Commander Jaden immediately," Frieza ordered. He turned to Zarbon and said, "Zarbon, reassign those two planets that Jaden was supposed to clear this week to the Ginyu Force and Balair right away; Jaden will be in no condition at this time to do her job. She'll need time to recover."

"Yes, sire," Zarbon replied, as Chestra and the others continued to talk to Jaden in soothing tones, trying to bring her out of her madness.

Two hours later, in Jaden's hospital room…

Jaden had been heavily sedated, and Chestra and Zarbon had been sitting at her bedside. Dr. Katsen was speaking with another doctor, Dr. Patina, who was from the same race as Diamonique, but of a lower Gemstarian tribe well known for their medical expertise. Dr. Patina was a lovely woman with dark purple hair and black gem eyes, and she was in her early thirties. She looked at Jaden sympathetically.

"What a horrific experience she has had…poor Commander Jaden," Dr. Patina said quietly. "I haven't seen a case this bad in years."  
"Seeing any of Dodoria's race naked is a frightening experience for anyone," Dr. Katsen asserted. "But Jaden is tough, and she will eventually recover."

Jaden, a warrior with few friends, had her room filled with brightly colored flowers and plants from various planets from well-wishers, but one plant had to be destroyed immediately when it had tried to eat Dr. Patina's arm, and a huge orchid-like flower had to be disintegrated when it had started to emit a foul-smelling gas that reeked of a fart.

Frieza had just entered the doorway to Jaden's room, embarrassed (he was not about to admit that he himself had accidentally sent the smelly flower to Jaden's room), and he called to Chestra, who was quietly watching over her friend and holding her hand. Her other hand was holding tight to Zarbon's, as she turned to look at Frieza.

"Chestra, I would like to see you alone in the hallway…please," Frieza told her calmly.

Chestra released Zarbon's hand and patted it. "I will be okay," she whispered to him. "Surely what Frieza has to say to me can't be as bad as what the sight of Dodoria's body did to poor Jaden earlier."

"Be careful," Zarbon whispered back.

"I will."

Chestra nervously followed Frieza out into the corridor, as Dr. Katsen and Dr. Patina watched her with too much sympathy; they had both known that Frieza at one time had wanted Chestra for his woman.

When they had reached the other side of the sterile gray corridor with the shiny stainless steel walls, and Frieza looked at Chestra hard and longingly. Contrary to popular belief among Frieza's soldiers, he no longer lusted after her, having finally reconciled himself to the idea of her being his daughter. Frieza felt a rare pang in his heart, a hurt that he was not familiar with-was it guilt that he had harmed her in the past, or regret that he couldn't openly acknowledge her as his own flesh and blood? Whatever it was, it hurt him more than he wanted to admit, and a tiny part of him, so deep within his dark soul that he couldn't sense it at first, longed to reach out and embrace her and call her his daughter. For the first time in his life, Frieza wanted to care for someone other than himself, and he wanted to hear someone call him, "Father."

He had decided to go against his father's advice and tell Chestra the truth about her heritage this day. Chestra had the right to know who she truly was and where she fit in the scheme of things. She was technically a princess, and he was a prince, although no one had ever called either him that. Chestra had the right to take her place in the Cold Empire as a potential heiress. Frieza now truly hoped that Coola would die without siring an heir; he would then be one step closer to taking over the entire Cold Empire for himself one day, and Chestra could follow in his footsteps. She had already made him proud, although of course he would never tell her so. She was tough and brave, brave enough to risk death in order to protect the man that she loved. Not even the mightiest kings and emperors had as much courage as she had had in defying Frieza.

Frieza remembered his cold, lonely childhood; all his life he had listened to his dead mother's tapes telling him and Coola, who had been released from the gestation tank before him, that they must grow up to be ruthless and cold, with no thought to anything except to become strong and mighty. They would avenge her, she had told them; they would avenge her death against Shalila Chloe of the Astorian race who had slain her. That cryptic message had been on the final audiotape that she had made, as she had laid in her room dying.

And King Cold had well earned his name. While he had been exceedingly kind and generous with his wives and concubines, even those whom he did not love, he had been harsh and demanding towards his own two sons until they had grown up. Although he had favored Coola more because he was the one "born" first out of the gestation tank, he had indulged Frieza more as in not scolding or punishing Frieza as much as he had Coola. Nevertheless, King Cold had never shown Frieza any real affection, although Frieza had strived most of his young life to please him.

Frieza looked at Chestra again, more intensely than ever. Chestra, from what he had been able to pry out of Zarbon, had never had much of a real childhood, except for what she had on planet Ghetti. She had been a slave almost all of her life, and his anger burned hot against those that he had heard had mistreated her. How dare those bastards enslave and mistreat someone of HIS flesh and blood? Why Chestra could wind up ruling over all of them someday!

And then his anger at her enemies and captors turned into pride for his daughter; she was a true survivor, a true Cold. And there was a softer feeling that he had held for her; if he hadn't been the heinous, heartless tyrant that he was, he would have called it love. But he would have called love a foolish emotion; both of his parents would have ridiculed him immediately for it, had they known. He wanted to draw Chestra into his arms and hold her forever, and it was a feeling that he was having a hard time squelching.

He finally began to speak, barely managing to hold his arms down, "Chestra…" he began, in an unnaturally hesitant tone for him. "Chestra…there is something important that I must tell you."

"What is that, Lord Frieza?" she asked uneasily.

"You are…" Frieza began, but before he could get another word out, his father's words came back to haunt him:

*Coola would try to kill her off, and he has no children yet that I know of. If he dies before producing an heir, the Cold Empire will go to you-provided that you were not the one to murder your brother-and then it would go to your Chestra. Second, I know that the other Top Elite officers are vying for your position, and they will believe that you intend to give it to Chestra, whether you intend to or not. For anytime that you did a favor for Chestra, the others would give her a hard time because they think that you did it out of nepotism…Some may even try to kill her, and then you do have many enemies yet, son, who would use her to get to you. It is far better for all of us concerned that Chestra does not know of her heritage until we either a) both die, or b) Coola dies without an heir, or c) Coola gains an heir. *

Frieza sighed heavily, and more of that strange emotion called regret filled his heart. Why couldn't he just blurt out the truth?

*Coola would try to kill her off… *

*Curse you, Father! She is MY daughter! I want to claim her as mine! I want to hear her calling me "Father"! * Frieza thought to himself in extreme, rare anguish.

* Anytime that you did a favor for Chestra, the others would give her a hard time because they think that you did it out of nepotism…*

*No, Father! I can prevent that, I can! * Frieza protested to his father inside his head.

* Some may even try to kill her, and then you do have many enemies yet, son, who would use her to get to you… *

Frieza's inner voice raged at his father's words, *No, Father, I can protect her, I can! *

* It is far better for all of us concerned that Chestra does not know of her heritage… *

Frieza screamed inside of his head, *No, it is not, Father! I will tell her, I will! She is my daughter, and I want her to know it! *

* Until we either a) both die, or b) Coola dies without an heir, or c) Coola gains an heir… *

Frieza's fists clenched, and he gnashed his teeth, as a different voice echoed through his head…

…His own voice, the particle of a conscience that he rarely ever listened to, ever.

*Frieza, for once do the right thing! You'll only endanger her life and welfare in your army, if the others know! And how do you think she'll feel if she finds out that it was her own father who tried to rape her a year and a half ago! Do you want that guilt and shame piled on her head? You've put her through enough; the decent thing you can do is let her live in peace! There will be time enough for her to know the truth someday, but not now, not now… *

"Not now, not now," Frieza whispered hoarsely to himself, as he shook visibly.

"Are you alright, Lord Frieza?" Chestra asked out of polite concern.

"Of course I am!" Frieza snapped at her, and Chestra flinched for just a moment. Frieza modified his tone and said more kindly, "Of course, I am, my dear…I was just thinking of some things…" His voice trailed off.

"What did you wish to tell me, Lord Frieza?"

Frieza finally allowed himself to smile. He was much calmer now. He grinned, as he announced his shocking piece of news to Chestra, something else that he had meant to tell her.

"I have decided to promote you. Congratulations, Top Elite Officer Chestra."

"Th-thank you, sire!" And with that, a shocked Chestra fell into the wall and hit her head hard.

That evening in Zarbon's room…

Jaden was making a slow recovery, and she was finally speaking coherently again without mentioning the awful scene of Dodoria's nude body. Relieved that Jaden would be okay, and happy about Chestra being promoted to Top Elite, they were now happily lying in bed making love with any guilt.

"I've never made love to a Top Elite Officer before," Zarbon told her delightedly when she had announced the news to him. "Congratulations, my dear, my love…" he murmured, as he began to kiss her throat and nibble along her collarbone.

He then reached over to the green side of her head, touching it lightly. "How's your head?"

"It's healing fairly quickly," Chestra told him breathlessly, as Zarbon's lips covered hers, pressing against them with a warm pressure that was both firm and gentle at the same time.

"That…feels so good," Chestra breathed heavily. "Very, very good!" She lowered her lips to his broad shoulder and began to lightly bite at it. Zarbon then flipped her over on her back, and he laid himself upon her. Chestra wrapped her slender legs around his waist, pulling him closer to her and relishing his pleasant weight upon her petite body. Zarbon resumed kissing her lips, his lips enclosing her lips in a loving union that took the breath out of both of them. Their tongues danced together, wrapping around each other in a sweet inner embrace. And soon afterwards, they went further, exploring and caressing each other in a way, an intimate way that only a couple truly in love knows, until they reached their ultimate destination.

Thirty minutes later, they lay in each other's arms, happily contented and satisfied. A sleepy Chestra slowly kissed Zarbon, from his lips along his chest, all the way down to his stomach. She rubbed his chest lightly with her hand and her soft hair.

She looked up at him lovingly and murmured, "I love you…will you ever tire of my saying it?"

"Never. Will you ever tire of me saying it back?"

"No, no!"

He whispered soft words of love in her cat-like ears, as Chestra purred contentedly.

Zarbon asked her honestly, "Chestra, do you think that you could be for the most part happy here, even with…you know…ruling over us." He feared that saying Frieza's name would ruin the afterglow.

"As long as I have you, I can be happy anywhere," Chestra told him softly.

"Life's much better for me since you came along," Zarbon admitted. "As long as we're together, I can take anything. Do you know that you're the main reason I get up every morning?" he asked her, kissing her softly again.

"You're what makes life here so enjoyable for me," she told him softly. "I will look forward to waking up next to you tomorrow morning."

"I hope all of our mornings, we wake up in each other's arms," Zarbon told her, as they kissed again, much more deeply this time. And chuckling in her ear, he added:

"And may we never wake up to the sight of a naked Dodoria."

THE END


End file.
